The 21st century is pretty hard to beat when it comes to discoveries. This is especially true considering that the century was the time during which the role of DNA in heritability as well as the maintenance of life were elucidated. Thanks to those advancements, we now know that each of our cells encompasses nearly […]
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Before we go into testing and what the best screenings are for hemochromatosis, let’s first dive into what this mouthful of a word refers to. Hemochromatosis is a disorder relating to iron storage within the body. More specifically, the term refers to a condition whereby too much iron builds up in the system. It also […]
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Do the two terms truly differ from one another? And, if they do, how so? Up until now, you may have assumed that the two words are perfectly interchangeable as they have largely been treated as synonyms in several disciplines, particularly in the life sciences. Not only are the two used in the same context, […]
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The question of whether cloning humans should be legal or not is a very loaded one. Perhaps even personal, depending on one’s moral stance on the subject. And given that the answer is so closely related to one’s perspective, it is impossible to address this question in a way that satisfies everyone. Ever since Dolly […]
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To those of us who are not exactly well versed on the genetics side of things, hearing the words “intron” and “exon” may conjure up images of some type of robots. Rightfully so—the science community can get pretty creative when naming parts of the body, cell, or nucleus. And if you are not a geneticist, […]
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The term “genetics” is heard everywhere these days. And rightfully so! Scientific, technological, and engineering advancements have largely contributed to an advancement in research techniques, which, in turn, has ushered techniques that have helped us better understand our genetic blueprint as part of our family history. And while the human genome has been mapped, we […]
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Genetic testing can provide great insight into disease predisposition, type, and onset as well as progression. As such, it can help not only those who are immediately affected but also their loved ones remain informed and in the know. Being aware of disease behavior provides a sense of relief, which, in turn, improves a situation […]
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So, you have received a prescription from your physician for a drug. You’ve visited your local pharmacy, filled out a form, and now you are reading the long list of side effects. You may even be wondering if the good outweighs the bad.If so, you’re not alone. The long list of possible side effects is […]
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It was not so long ago that becoming pregnant and having a baby was a lot less monitored, a lot less invasive, and a lot more passive. Up until fairly recently, women became pregnant and spent the next nine months simply waiting to find out the gender of their baby. Today, that waiting seems largely […]
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In order to properly understand the definition of a polygenic trait, also known as a polygenic inheritance, you should probably have a solid foundation of some basic genetics terms so that it all comes together nicely. The most crucial thing to the understanding of polygenic traits and genetic variance are definitions of traits, phenotypes, and […]
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