Genetic Twists of Fate - 9780262518642

News stories report almost daily on the remarkable progress scientists are making inunraveling the genetic basis of disease and behavior. Meanwhile, new technologies are rapidlyreducing the cost of reading someone's personal DNA (all six billion letters of it). Within the nextten years, hospitals may present parents with their newborn's complete DNA code along with herfootprints and APGAR score. In Genetic Twists of Fate, distinguished geneticistsStanley Fields and Mark Johnston help us make sense of the genetic revolution that is upon us.Fields and Johnston tell real life stories that hinge on the inheritance of one tiny change ratherthan another in an individual's DNA: a mother wrongly accused of poisoning her young son when thetrue killer was a genetic disorder; the screen siren who could no longer remember her lines becauseof Alzheimer's disease; and the president who was treated with rat poison to prevent another heartattack. In an engaging and accessible style, Fields and Johnston explain what our personal DNA codeis, how a few differences in its long list of DNA letters makes each of us unique, and how that codeinfluences our appearance, our behavior, and our risk for such common diseases as diabetes orcancer.