Word: brainstem
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...offer DNA tests for 30 or 40 of the more commonly inherited disorders, including cystic fibrosis, susceptibility to some types of breast cancer, fragile X syndrome (after Down, the most common cause of mental retardation), Huntington's disease, Duchenne muscular dystrophy, and various types of degeneration of the brainstem, spinal cord and peripheral nerves. If you include testable variants of some diseases, such as the many different genetic mutations that can cause cystic fibrosis, the number of available DNA probes rises to some 400, with the count growing almost daily. What's more, some tests provide accuracy as high...
...traced to the influences of estrogen and testosterone in the womb. (While all fetuses are exposed to their mother's estrogen, male fetuses produce testosterone in their testes by the 12th week of gestation.) Particularly affected is the hypothalamus, a walnut-size structure located near the top of the brainstem that governs sexual development and sexual behavior and regulates temperature and water balance. Many scientists believe that such gender differences as the male facility with math, the female facility with language, girls' slightly superior hearing and skill at interpreting facial expressions are hardwired prenatally through the influence...