The Human Genome: Will It Change Your Life? The Human Genome Project has really come to life in the past several years. It involves taking each of our twenty-three chromosomes apart and retrieving the DNA sequence that makes up our genes. A gene is the material that shapes us and makes us who we are. When the human genome is complete, it will give us an instruction book of our genetic makeup.
In the article, "Advances in Hereditary Deafness,"ÃÂ by Mustafa Tekin, Kathleen S. Arnos, and Arti Pandya, the main focus is on how the human genome has been able to locate the certain spots on genes that account for deafness. It also talks about how the mutations of genes can lead to signs of deafness. Because of this knowledge, we are able to further research a cure for this disease. This article describes the processes of normal hearing, and the classifications for hearing loss, stating that mutations are most often the cause of hearing loss.
A slight mutation in the matched nucleotides can l...
090720-1100316
090720-1100314Later in the article, they discuss how infants can be screened to see if they will have problems with their hearing later in life. Doctors can use physical tests to find approximately the probability a patient has of becoming deaf, but genetic tests need to be run in order to see if that person has the genetic material for deafness, that will show it's signs in the future. If there are no signs of deafness at infancy, hearing loss can still occur in the future because of new mutations, non-penetrance, or misrepresentation. In the case that an infant shows signs of deafness, genetic tests can be run to identify many reasons why the infant has hearing problems. This makes it possible for humans to see the effects of this disease beforehand, enhancing our...