When Taylor Muhl was born, her mother was told that her baby’s two-toned skin was a birthmark. Now at 33 years old, Muhl, a musician and model, understands her two-toned skin is actually a result of a genetic condition called chimerism, which causes an individual to have two genomes, or sets of DNA.
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Cancer is caused by genetic changes, known as mutations or pathogenic (disease-causing) variants, in a cell. The mutations cause the cells to grow uncontrollably and develop into tumors. The mutations that can lead to cancer occur in genes that normally prevent tumors from growing when functioning properly. These mutations can be acquired throughout a lifetime and are caused by various risk factors including aging, environmental factors, and lifestyle factors.
There are genetic tests available directly to consumers, with a sample collected at home, that provide a wide range of information from traits to ancestry, and even some health information. These genetic tests may be referred to as consumer-directed, direct-to-consumer or at-home genetic tests.
They say privacy is dead, but what about genetic privacy? This presentation, by Anya Prince, Associate Professor at the University of Iowa College of Law, will discuss the federal laws that regulate who has access to a person’s genetic information.
The joy that prenatal genetic testing has brought to gender reveal parties is undeniable: specialty cakes, powder-filled baseballs, a box full of pink or blue balloons. But that’s just one of several results you can get from prenatal testing.
Recently, I read in a newspaper article that I would soon be able to get my entire genome sequenced for less than $1,000. That’s crazy! Is this true? I thought that genome sequencing would cost like a billion dollars. Should I do it?
Cascade genetic testing is one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways to identify individuals who are known to be at risk for an inherited condition such as heart disease and cancer. It’s the process of testing through a family in a specific order to identify all of the relatives who did, or did not, inherit a genetic mutation that is causing the condition of concern in the family.
Celebrities. We are fascinated by them. We often want to be like them. And we often take their advice based on their personal experience. Recently, Christina Applegate announced she had her ovaries removed after learning she tested positive for a BRCA1 mutation (more on that below).
The holiday season requires you to contemplate carefully what to get that person in your life who already has everything. Gift cards are a safe bet, you think, but then you flip to a magazine holiday gift guide and see it: a DNA test. A dozen years ago, it would have sounded absurd
El siguiente artículo es parte de la serie de blogs de pacientes de la Sociedad Nacional de Asesores en Genética. Escrito por verdaderos pacientes, estas historias dan un vistazo al mundo a veces complicado de la genética y el papel que un asesor en genética puede jugar en ayudar a las personas a na