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Archiver > GENEALOGY-DNA > 2002-03 > 1015001755


From: "JECrain" <>
Subject: [DNA] mtDNA; Not Just Junk DNA?
Date: Fri, 1 Mar 2002 10:59:11 -0600


mtDNA seems to have a lot more roles than previously thought. Read the entire article at The New Scientist. FREE 7 day trial.

http://www.newscientist.com/


The Force 26 Feb 00

"They determined your fate years before you were born, they influence your health and possibly your sporting prowess... they may even have a say in when you will die. Philip Cohen reveals the secrets of mitochondria."



http://archive.newscientist.com/archive.jsp?id=22274400

"Since 1988, however, geneticists have discovered hundreds of mtDNA mutations linked to disease. Many affect muscles or the brain, probably because of these organs' high energy demands. Others can cause problems as varied as vomiting, deafness, weakness following exercise, diabetes, mental retardation, strokes, speech defects and short stature. It's a remarkable range of conditions to come from only 37 genes, all of them involved in energy production. Even more surprising is that the same mutations can sometimes cause different diseases in different people. For example, a mutation with the unmemorable name MTND6*LDYT14459A sometimes leads to degeneration of the optic nerve and blindness in adults, but other times triggers a childhood disorder called Leigh's disease with symptoms that include short stature, speech problems and mental retardation."







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