Hereditary Diseases

Some disorders and conditions are hereditary. These include diabetes, color blindness, hemophilia (which prevents blood from clotting well or at all), cystic fibrosis (which causes difficulty with breathing and digestion), and muscular dystrophy (which causes muscular weakness and wasting of the muscles). Genetic testing can find out if a couple might pass on these diseases to their children.

For as long as people have grown plants and raised animals, they have bred them for their special traits. The gardener chooses the rose that smells the sweetest and the farmer selects the bull with the most workable temperament when deciding which to use for breeding. Recently, we have learned a great deal more about genetics.