Thursday, October 4, 2012

Quick DNA Analysis For Infants

Infant DNA Tests Speed Diagnosis of Rare Diseases by Gina Kolata.  The New York Times.  October 3, 2012.

An article in Science Translation Medicine outlined a new approach to quickly analyzing a baby's entire DNA to pinpoint mutations in two days instead of weeks or months.  Disease symptoms are used to narrow the search for genetic aberrations.  A computer program searches for genes based on those symptoms.  In narrowing the search for mutations the new method avoids ethical problems that arise when genes are discovered which can lead to adult disease.

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