Title: How is Genetic Disease Inherited?
Headings: How is Genetic Disease Inherited?
How is Genetic Disease Inherited?
Content: If a parent has a dominant genetic disease, then each of that person’s children has a 50% chance of inheriting the disease. Dominant diseases can also occur spontaneously; this happens when a random mutation in one gene occurs at conception. Examples of dominant genetic diseases include Achondroplasia and Huntington disease. For some dominant genetic diseases, there may be specific DNA tests available. Recessive genetic diseases. When both parents are carriers of the same recessive disease, there is a 25% chance that the pregnancy will inherit the trait from both parents and have the disease, a 50% chance that the pregnancy will inherit the trait from only one parent and be a carrier, or a 25% chance that the pregnancy will not inherit the trait from either parent and will not be a carrier or have the disease. Sex-linked genetic diseases affect males and females differently. This is a smaller set of diseases related to gene mutations on the X or Y chromosomes. Some common examples include hemophilia and color-blindness.