RT Book, Section
A1 Schaefer, G. Bradley
A1 Thompson, Jr., James N.
SR Print(0)
ID 1147721842
T1 Genetics: Unity and Diversity
T2 Medical Genetics: An Integrated Approach
YR 2017
FD 2017
PB McGraw-Hill Education
PP New York, NY
SN 9780071664387
LK accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=1147721842
RD 2024/04/19
AB If  asked  for  one  phrase  to  define  the  theme  of  this  text  on  medical  genetics,  it  might  be  "the  cascade  of  consequences."  This  is  a  major  departure  from  the  simple  view  that  a  gene  causes  a  trait.  Traits  can  be  appearance,  behavior,  or  body  chemistry.  For  much  of  recent  history,  and  certainly  in  common  discussion,  one  imagines  that  a  gene  has  a  simple  and  direct  effect  on  a  character.  For  example,  one  might  say  that  albinism  is  caused  by  the  "a"  gene  (Figure  1-1).  While  this  view  is  not  quite  wrong,  the  reality  is  both  more  complex  and  more  interesting.  There  is  in  fact  an  intricate  interaction  among  genes,  hormones,  enzymes,  membrane  receptors,  neuron  networks,  and  so  on  that  creates  a  maze  of  connections  that  prescribes  our  individual  functional  and  developmental  path.  Many  of  these  pathways  and  interactions  are  shared  by  even  distantly  related  animals.  There  is  both  unity  and  diversity  in  the  genetics  of  life.