Proteomics refers to the analysis of proteins that are defined by the DNA of a living organism. Their biological functions, metabolism and interactions are investigated. This is a broad scientific discipline that is becoming increasingly important in many areas of medical research. The focus of investigation is the proteome of a biological unit (cell of an organ or an entire organism). The proteome is defined here as the totality of all proteins expressed by the biological unit. This is to be distinguished from the research field of "genomics", which refers to the study of DNA and the entire human genome.