Genetic Defects

Supercomputers solve riddle of congenital heart defects

About 25,000 Danes currently live with congenital heart defects. Both heredity and environment play a role for these malformations, but exactly how various risk factors influence the development of the heart during pregnancy ...

Cardiology created Aug 13, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Study of zebra fish mouth formation may speak to Fraser syndrome hearing loss

Using mutant zebra fish, researchers studying the earliest formation of cartilage of the mouth believe they may have gotten a look at a mechanism involved in a genetic defect linked to Fraser syndrome deafness in humans.

Genetics created Jul 31, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Gene therapy holds promise for reversing congenital hearing loss

A new gene therapy approach can reverse hearing loss caused by a genetic defect in a mouse model of congenital deafness, according to a preclinical study published by Cell Press in the July 26 issue of the journal Neuron. The fi ...

Neuroscience created Jul 25, 2012 | popularity 4 / 5 (3) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

New information about the causes of 'floppy baby' syndrome discovered

(Medical Xpress) -- New information on the potential cause of Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA), known as “floppy baby syndrome”, has been discovered by cell biology experts at the University of St Andrews.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Jun 28, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Biologists take new approach to deciphering the roles of genes associated with autism

Fish cannot display symptoms of autism, schizophrenia or other human brain disorders. However, a team of MIT biologists has shown that zebrafish can be a useful tool for studying the genes that contribute ...

Genetics created Jun 19, 2012 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Out of the shadows: Freeing families from mitochondrial inherited disease

(Medical Xpress) -- Mitochondrial inherited diseases (MIDs) can devastate families, but there is hope in the form of new techniques to prevent them passing from mother to child. Anjana Ahuja speaks to the ...

Medical research created Jun 12, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Normal gene hinders breast cancer chemotherapy

Presence of normal p53, a tumor suppressor gene, instead of a mutated version, makes breast cancer chemotherapy with doxorubicin less effective. The preclinical study led by MD Anderson scientists was published today in the ...

Cancer created Jun 11, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Brain cell activity imbalance may account for seizure susceptibility in Angelman syndrome

New research by scientists at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine may have pinpointed an underlying cause of the seizures that affect 90 percent of people with Angelman syndrome (AS), a neurodevelopmental ...

Neuroscience created Jun 06, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Genetic cause for CLOVES syndrome identified

Using advanced technologies for rapidly sequencing and analyzing DNA from clinical and pathologic samples, a multidisciplinary research team consisting of geneticists, pathologists and surgeons at Boston Children's Hospital ...

Genetics created May 31, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Scientists discover gene which causes rare disease in babies

A rare disease which often first presents in newborn babies has been traced to a novel genetic defect, scientists at Queen Mary, University of London have found.

Genetics created May 29, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Evolution's gift may also be at the root of a form of autism

A recently evolved pattern of gene activity in the language and decision-making centers of the human brain is missing in a disorder associated with autism and learning disabilities, a new study by Yale University researchers ...

Genetics created May 10, 2012 | popularity 3.5 / 5 (2) | comments 2 | with audio podcast

Research points to new way of preserving fertility for boys undergoing cancer treatment

(Medical Xpress) -- Treatments for childhood cancers are increasingly successful with cure rates approaching 80%, but success often comes with a downside for the surviving men: the cancer treatments they received ...

Medical research created Mar 26, 2012 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Research identifies the beginnings of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

The third most deadly disease in the U.S., chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), appears to be partly driven by the action of immune cells circulating in the blood entering into the tissues of the lungs. UC Davis ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Mar 21, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Researchers discover molecular basis of autistic symptoms in children with rare bone disorder

Children with multiple hereditary exostoses (MHE), an inherited genetic disease, suffer from multiple growths on their bones that cause pain and disfigurement. But beyond the physical symptoms of this condition, ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Mar 12, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast

Fasudil bypasses genetic cause of spinal birth defect

Scientists from the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute (OHRI) and the University of Ottawa (uOttawa) have discovered that a drug called fasudil can extend the average lifespan of mice with Spinal muscular ...

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes created Mar 06, 2012 | popularity 5 / 5 (1) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


A genetic disorder is an illness caused by abnormalities in genes or chromosomes, especially a condition that is present from before birth. Most genetic disorders are quite rare and affect one person in every several thousands or millions.

A genetic disorder may or may not be a heritable disorder. Some genetic disorders are passed down from the parents' genes, but others are always or almost always caused by new mutations or changes to the DNA. In other cases, the same disease, such as some forms of cancer, may be caused by an inherited genetic condition in some people, by new mutations in other people, and by non-genetic causes in still other people.

Some types of recessive gene disorders confer an advantage in certain environments when only one copy of the gene is present.

This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.

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Scientists discover cinnamon compounds' potential ability to prevent Alzheimer's

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