What is a genetic disorder?
Q: What is a genetic disorder?
A: A genetic disorder is a health problem caused by abnormalities in the genome.
Q: Are genetic disorders heritable?
A: Yes, genetic disorders are heritable and may be passed down from the parents' genes to their children and to later generations.
Q: What is a congenital defect?
A: If a genetic disorder is present from birth, it is described as a congenital defect.
Q: How can a genetic mutation responsible for a disorder occur?
A: The mutation responsible can occur spontaneously before the embryo develops, or it can be inherited from parents who are carriers of a faulty gene.
Q: Are genetic disorders common?
A: Most genetic disorders are rare, affecting one person in every several thousands or even millions.
Q: Why are some genetic disorders relatively frequent in a population?
A: Sometimes certain genetic disorders may be relatively frequent in a population if they provide an advantage in certain environments when only one copy of the gene is present.
Q: What is a genetic disease?
A: A disease is only called a genetic disease if it can be inherited.
