• Question: are there many diseases which can be passed down genetically?if so which ones?

    Asked by anon-255051 to Genetics_Chris on 19 May 2020.
    • Photo: Chris Watt

      Chris Watt answered on 19 May 2020:

      Hi JackJ, thanks for the question!
      Yes there are lots and lots of diseases that can be passed down genetically. Some examples are Huntington’s disease, cystic fibrosis and Fragile X syndrome. Some diseases are inherited from just one parent (like Huntington’s disease) and these are called dominant genetic diseases. Some diseases are passed on when both parents are carriers of a disease (like cystic fibrosis) and these are called recessive diseases. Part of my job is to test people’s DNA to see if they have a genetic disease – this is important because it might help with their treatment, but also because it tells them if they are at risk of passing a genetic disease to their children.

      Can you think of any other reasons why it might be important to test people’s DNA?

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