Neuromuscular diseases, which encompass disorders that affect muscle and its innervation, are highly heritable. Genetic diagnosis now frequently pinpoints the primary mutation responsible for a given neuromuscular disease. However, the results from genetic testing indicate that neuromuscular disease phenotypes may vary widely, even in individuals with the same primary disease-causing mutation. ...

Neil Risch, in a series of seminal papers in 1990 (1, 2), demonstrated the utility of sibpair linkage analysis in identifying genes for complex genetic traits. In doing so, he defined what is the current paradigm for the genetic dissection of common complex genetic diseases. The recent Perspective by Risch and Kathleen Merikangas (3) again shapes the future of human disease gene mapping by defi...

The number of genes associated with renal disease is increasing every day and this has led to a clearer understanding of the pathophysiology of renal disease in many disorders. It is also appreciated now that a genetic mutation(s) underlie many renal syndromes. Genetic testing may also offer the possibility to diagnose some renal diseases without the need for a renal biopsy. It also allows the ...

In the northeast United States, control of West Nile virus (WNV) vectors has been unfocused because of a lack of accurate knowledge about the roles different mosquitoes play in WNV transmission. We analyzed the risk posed by 10 species of mosquitoes for transmitting WNV to humans by using a novel risk-assessment measure that combines information on the abundance, infection prevalence, vector co...

There is growing interest from dairy producers in traits related to health and fitness of cattle, which often have low heritabilities but high economic values. Traits with low heritability can be improved by genetic selection, but large numbers of daughter records are required to produce predicted transmitting abilities with high reliability. Producer-recorded health event data collected from o...

background: the earlier atomic bomb explosion in hiroshima and nagasaki, and three worth mentioning nuclear accidents - detonation at fukushima daiichi nuclear plant, chernobyl nuclear fallout and an accident at three mile island nuclear power plant have made us more worried about the secure exploitation of nuclear energy. the central focus of this paper is to review radiation-mediated health e...

Genetic causes can be directly responsible for various clinical conditions of male and female infertility and genetic variability may affect the ability to reproduce. This review aims to summarize current research on genetic diagnosis and genetic causes of reproductive disorders. Chromosome abnormalities account for 60% of all spontaneous abortions, and the most common type, trisomy, is closely...