One Hundred Years Later….Eye Color...

Understanding the inheritance of eye color has been a challenge for decades. Most parents try to make their best guess about their unborn child’s eye color, hoping for that warm brown or the more rare bright blue outcome. "Eye Colors in Man," from The Trait Book, ERO Bulletin No. 6, by...

DNA DAY 2010: What, me worry about my DN...

by Dave Micklos Of course, everyone asks me what I think about National DNA Day, to which I usually reply, “Every day is DNA Day at the DNA Learning Center.” DNA is business as usual for me and legions of genetic researchers and counselors, but its also becoming business as usual for a lot...

Eliminating Undesirable Traits...

Eugenics aimed to eliminate undesirable traits. But how do you define “undesirable”? There is anecdotal evidence that the incidence of some disorders has decreased due to genetic testing (see “Testing Curbs Some Genetic Diseases,” by Marilyn Marchione). In and of itself, this...

It’s All Your Parents’ Fault...

Eugenicists looked at a diversity of “traits” and asserted that many of them were genetically inherited, excluding any other cause. The subjects of the studies often came from unique populations, including circus performers, residents in mental institutions, and even historical figures, long...