By 2000 scientists had discovered more than 4, 000 disease-causing genes, mostly for rare inherited diseases.
Strohman said the human genome only explains rare inherited diseases, which represent only about 2-percent of all maladies that afflict mankind.
Ironically, perhaps, the first iteration of Rothberg's genome machine is poorly suited to the one market closest to his heart: rare inherited diseases.
This is a very different situation from gene test for rare inherited diseases where most everyone who has the bad gene will get sick.
Once the genetic sequence of the zebrafish is known, scientists will be able to make changes to the animal's DNA to study how human inherited diseases might arise.
About half of all liver disease is alcohol related, a third is caused by viral hepatitis and the remainder due to immune system dysfunction, metabolic disorders and inherited diseases.
Sir Mark says genome science has also led to improvements in the diagnosis and categorisation of inherited diseases and treatments for inherited forms of diabetes, based on a patient's genetic makeup.
In the far future, it may be possible to prevent genetic diseases from being inherited by cutting them out of the gene pool once and for all, so-called germline engineering.
Muscle diseases weaken and waste muscles and can be inherited or acquired and affect people of all ages, backgrounds and nationalities.
Genetic Alliance, a network of more than 600 support groups representing patients with inherited disorders, is trying to set up a database of information about the diseases in question for researchers to consult.
For diseases such as cystic fibrosis or muscular dystrophy, which involve one or a few inherited genetic changes, clinical trials are attempting to introduce the correct versions of faulty genes into patients.
ECONOMIST: The prospects for using genes as a therapy may be improving
Some of the most powerful evidence comes from studies of patients with inherited forms of Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, Lou Gehrig's, Huntington's and related diseases.
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