Xref: utzoo sci.research:650 talk.politics.misc:21730 sci.bio:1831
Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!oli-stl!asylum!ayermish
From: ayermish@asylum.SF.CA.US (Aimee Yermish)
Newsgroups: sci.research,talk.politics.misc,sci.bio
Subject: Re: Gene Pool
Message-ID: <1095@asylum.SF.CA.US>
Date: 8 Feb 89 21:53:46 GMT
References: <674@intvax.UUCP> <1252@meccsd.MECC.MN.ORG> <1254@meccsd.MECC.MN.ORG> <5579@ncsugn.ncsu.edu> <10276@ut-emx.UUCP>
Reply-To: ayermish@asylum.UUCP (Aimee Yermish)
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In article <10276@ut-emx.UUCP> ethan@ut-emx.UUCP (Ethan Tecumseh Vishniac) writes:

>Not being a geneticist, I have frequently wondered, but never looked into,
>the question of why an infrequent mutation like Tay-Sachs, which has such
>a devastating effect on those unfortunates who are homozygous for it, has
>such a relatively *high* incidence among Ashkenzaic Jewry (I believe that
>1/30 individuals is heterozygous).

I think that a large part of the answer is that Ashkenazi Jews are a
(compared to the whole world) small population with relatively strong
(although not so much in recent times) beliefs against intermarriage.
As far as what the defect is or how it could possibly interact with
other diseases, I don't know what is known, but might be able to look
it up if you are interested.

--Aimee
-- 
Aimee Yermish				ayermish@asylum.sf.ca.us
Program in Cancer Biology		ayermish@portia.stanford.edu
Stanford University			415-594-9268