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More than 4,000 diseases are thought to be related to mutated genes that are inherited from one or both parents. But whether a gene actually triggers a disease can be dependent on a variety of factors, including lifestyle and the environment. Genetic testing can d ....

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.... in basic research laboratories. A number of early human clinical trials have been initiated to test important concepts that have emerged in these laboratory studies. The reasoning for lies in our understanding of the genetic basis of human disease. It is probably safe to say that genes we inherit from our parents influence virtually every human disease. A composite of approximately 150,000 individual genes constitutes a human being. Several years ago, an international effort was launched to identify every single human gene. This effort called the Human Genome Project, is well underway and should be completed soon after the turn of the century. ....