Given the rapidly advancing field of bio engineering, and the fact that genetics has crept its way into practically every disease over the last few years, asking if a condition is genetic has become a common and safe habit. In many ways, given the discoveries that have followed the advancements in the sciences that have […]
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What is a recessive gene? Did you know that there are different types of genes? Before asking more questions and confusing you, let’s first get some terms out of the way. Genes are sort of the basic building blocks of life. I say “sort of” because “gene” is a generalized term that stands for “the […]
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These days, asking if something is genetic has become second nature (if you are in science, that is). The field of genetics has blossomed over the past few years to something incredible. We have found out things about our genetic blueprint that has not only helped us understand molecular biology on a deeper level, but […]
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With so many diseases these days being found to be genetic, it comes as no surprise that this question comes up when it comes to epilepsy. What is epilepsy? Are there many types of it? What does it all mean? And, last but not least, is it genetic? Epilepsy is defined as a disorder of […]
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Let’s start by putting some facts out there. Humans have an estimated 19,000–20,000 and 23 chromosomes. The majority of us have heard the terms gene and chromosome. To some of us, the terms are very familiar and yet to others not so much. The difference between genes and chromosomes is very simple if you know […]
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For a lot of us who are reading the topic of this blog post and who understand what autoinflammatory disease is will eagerly read on and be curious to find out all about why we should, indeed, begin caring about it. For many others of us, however, it is not as straight forward as we […]
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Fraternal and identical twins and genetics? Huh? Some of us may know what all the words in this sentence mean, but other may just recognize the word twins but wonder what the rest means. Let us back up all the way to the basic definitions so that as much of our audience understands what we […]
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The word “Mendelian” is one of those last-name adjectives that are used to describe something that someone once invented and, as such, their last name has been used to describe that very thing they have discovered or invented. Mendelian actually takes after an Augustinian monk who has changed the field of genetics completely. He has […]
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What do Jennifer Garner, Matthew McConaughey, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Bradley Cooper, Cameron Diaz, Carey Mulligan, Miranda Kerr, and Cheryl Cole have in common? They all have dimples or, as they were originally called, gelasin—a visible indentation anywhere on the skin. To add to that, what do Ewan McGregor, Emily Blunt, Ben Affleck, Sandra Bullock, […]
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These days, with genetics essentially being mentioned every where, it is completely safe to assume that any disease is either hereditary and/or genetic. There is no reason why a stroke would be an exception. However, before we go into the discussion of whether or not strokes are hereditary, let’s take a few steps back and […]
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