Gene, Chromosomes, and Disease: From Simple Traits, to Complex Traits, to Personalized Medicine

This is the Safari online edition of the printed book.

This readable overview covers the rise of medical genetics through the past century, and the eugenic impulses it has inspired. Nicholas Gillham reviews the linkages between genes and disease; ethnic groups’ differential susceptibility to genetic traits and disorders; personalized medicine; and crucial social and ethical issues arising from the field’s progress.

Preface     ix

Chapter 1: Hunting for disease genes     1

Chapter 2: How genetic diseases arise     25

Chapter 3: Ethnicity and genetic disease     55

Chapter 4: Susceptibility genes and risk factors     81

Chapter 5: Genes and cancer     103

Chapter 6: Genes and behavior     129

Chapter 7: Genes and IQ: an unfinished story     151

Chapter 8: Preventing genetic disease     175

Chapter 9: Treating genetic disease     199

Chapter 10: The dawn of personalized medicine     235

Postscript: a cautionary note     249

References and notes     253

Glossary     293

Some useful human genetics Web sites     307

Acknowledgments     309

About the author     311

Index     313