Genetic disease: A disease caused by an abnormality in an individual's genome.
There are a number of different types of genetic inheritance:
The sequence of the human genome provides the first holistic view of our genetic heritage. While not yet complete, continued refinement of the data bring us ever closer to a complete human genome reference sequence. The 46 human chromosomes (22 pairs of autosomal chromosomes and 2 sex chromosomes) between them house almost 3 billion base pairs of DNA that contains about 30 to 40,000 protein-coding genes. The coding regions make up less than 5% of the genome (the function of the remaining DNA is not clear) and some chromosomes have a higher density of genes than others.
Most genetic diseases are the direct result of a mutation in one gene. However, one of the most difficult problems ahead is to find out how genes contribute to diseases that have a complex pattern of inheritance, such as in the cases of diabetes, asthma, cancer and mental illness. In all these cases, no one gene has the yes/no power to say whether a person has a disease or not. It is likely that more than one mutation is required before the disease is manifest, and a number of genes may each make a subtle contribution to a person's susceptibility to a disease; genes may also affect how a person reacts to environmental factors.
Learn about genetic disease caused by abnormalities in an individual's genome. There are four types of genetic inheritance, single, multifactoral, chromosome ...
Read 'Want to Know Who is at Risk For Inheriting Genetic Diseases -Download a Free Gene Screen App to Learn More' on Yahoo! News. PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire ...
Guide for people searching for information about genetic diseases, chromosome defects, gene testing, and genetic counseling.
Genetics is believed to play a role in almost every human disease. Even for diseases traditionally described as environmental, such as tuberculosis and HIV ...
Researchers have found a new genetic cause of the blinding eye disease retinitis pigmentosa and, in the process, discovered an entirely new version of the message that ...