Kategoria BISAC: Medical >> Genetics

-Fifteen years ago, many questioned the wisdom of sequencing the human genome. There were concerns not only about the technical feasibility of such an effort, but also that its scientific worth would prove too modest to warrant the investment of human and financial capital that the project would require. This collection of essays stands as eloquent testimony to those who overcame such doubts to create, nurture, and finish the sequencing of the human genome in April 2003, a date that will forever stand out in human history. The wide and public availability of the human genome sequence and...

Why do racial and ethnic controversies become attached, as they often do, to discussions of modern genetics? How do theories about genetic difference become entangled with political debates about cultural and group differences in America? Such issues are a conspicuous part of the histories of three hereditary diseases: Tay-Sachs, commonly identified with Jewish Americans; cystic fibrosis, often labeled a -Caucasian- disease; and sickle cell disease, widely associated with African Americans.

In this captivating account, historians Keith Wailoo and Stephen Pemberton reveal how these...

Analytical Techniques in DNA Sequencing takes a look at the various DNA sequencing techniques that were developed and put to use during and after the Human Genome Project. Nunnally makes a special effort to trace the development of this branch of research since the early days of radioisotope sequencing. Special...

Although rare in the general population, Gaucher disease is the most prevalent of the lysosomal storage disorders, making research into this particular orphan disorder an invaluable prototype for the diagnosis, research, and treatment of others. Like many rare conditions, Gaucher disease has benefited from the explosion of medical research in the last decade, the amount of new information on this disease is staggering and the rate of...

Completion of the Human Genome Project will make possible a staggering array of new medical technologies, including new diagnostic and screening tests for inherited disorders, gene therapies, and the ability to manipulate a person's inherited, non-disease traits. Most of the attention given to the social implications of these technologies has focused on their potential to harm the individual, for example, by denying employment or insurance.

This book explores instead the potential harm to society if we unfairly distribute the enormous benefits of genetic technologies. The resulting...