• Question: what-is-down-syndrem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Asked by thesloth to Callum, Gina, Katie, Michelle, Sam on 15 Nov 2012. This question was also asked by minecraftguy.
    • Photo: Katie Howe

      Katie Howe answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      Hi!

      Downs syndrome happens when a person ends up with an extra copy of one chromosome. Chromosomes contain DNA which are the instructions on how to make your body. If there is an extra copy of one chromosome then the body gets confused about which set of instructions to follow. This can lead to a lot of problems for people with Downs syndrome. For example they have a lot of learning difficulties and growth problems. They are also more likely to develop problems with their sight and hearing.

      Downs syndrome is more likely in babies from older mothers. This is because the egg cells from older women get a bit dodgy because they have been around for a long time. This is a problem nowadays as a lot of women decide to have children when they get older because they want to have a career first.

      I am working on egg cells to see why and how a womens eggs get more dodgy as she gets older. We think that these dodgy eggs might be missing an important molecule. If we put this molecule back into the dodgy eggs then we hope we can make the eggs healthier and help women to have children

      I hope this explains it a bit better! thanks for your question!

    • Photo: Callum Johnston

      Callum Johnston answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      Hey,
      Katie explained it really well, but we can learn a lot from people with Down’s Syndrome too. Because they have 3 copies of some genes instead of 2, the problems they end up with are probably related to the genes they have 3 copies off. People with Down’s syndrome start to lose their memory younger than people without it and this is because they an extra copy of a gene that can damage your brain as you age.

    • Photo: Michelle Linterman

      Michelle Linterman answered on 15 Nov 2012:

      Hi, great question.

      Downs syndrome is a genetic disorder where a person has an extra copy (3 not two) of chromosome 21. Chromosomes are packages of DNA, that come in pairs, and we name them by size. So, chromosome 1 is the largest and chromosome 22 is the smallest. So in Downs syndrome there is an extra copy of the second smallest chromosome.

      It is really interesting to learn that people with downs syndrome are less likely to get some types of cancer, which makes scientists think that the extra copy of chromosome 21 can be protective against these cancers.

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