Look up a human gene symbol
Exactbiotech_gene_lookupDeterministic and authoritative — the canonical answer for this input.
Look up a human gene's canonical HGNC record by symbol or HGNC id. Returns the approved symbol, full name, HGNC id, chromosome location, alias/previous symbols, and Entrez/Ensembl/OMIM cross-references. Resolves aliases and withdrawn/previous symbols to the canonical gene (matched_by says how). Fully local (bundled HGNC set). confidence 1.0 = exact approved symbol/HGNC id; 0.9 = via alias/previous symbol; 0.0 = not found. Batch via biotech_gene_lookup_batch. Charges 1 cost_unit.
Parameters
querystringrequiredThe gene symbol or HGNC id to look up (e.g. 'BRCA1').
query_typestringoptionalHow to interpret the query: 'symbol' (default; also resolves aliases and previous symbols), 'hgnc_id' (e.g. 'HGNC:1100' or '1100'), 'alias', or 'prev_symbol'.
Call it
curl -X POST https://api.snipget.ai/v1/biotech/gene/lookup \
-H "Authorization: Bearer sk_live_..." \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"query":"BRCA1"}'The Batch tab sends up to 1000 inputs in one call via /v1/biotech/gene/lookup/batch.
FAQ
Why use this instead of trusting the model?
AI models routinely swap gene symbols (BRCA1 vs BRCA2), use withdrawn names, or invent plausible-sounding ones. This resolves your input to the official HGNC record (canonical symbol, full name, HGNC id, chromosome location, and Entrez/Ensembl/OMIM cross-references) or tells you plainly it doesn't exist.
Does it understand old or alternate symbols?
Yes. An alias or previous symbol still resolves to the current approved gene, and the result's matched_by tells you how it matched. Confidence drops to 0.9 when it resolved via an alias or previous symbol rather than the exact approved symbol.
What does it not do?
Human genes only, from the HGNC approved list, no other species. matchType is exact, so it returns the authoritative HGNC record, not a fuzzy match.
What if the symbol isn't real?
You get a result with confidence 0 and the record fields empty, not an error, so you can flag the value for review.
How is this different from gene validate?
Validate is a quick yes/no with the canonical form. Lookup returns the full gene record: name, location, and cross-references.