This is not a short-term investment. Under normal circumstances, that figure might seem large, but when we consider the outcome of each of our responsibilities, it is small change indeed. The advent of technology has transformed the birth process from conception to delivery. With technological innovation, parents can make educated decisions before conceiving and are better informed of fetal health during pregnancy. The recent detection of folic-acid deficiency as a principal source of neural tubal birth defects is an excellent example of how genetic screening before conception can be beneficial.
Heraclitic influences are at work in the field of genetic medicine.
Genetic testing ultimately will advance predictions of disease predisposition as well as their onset, scope and severity. Further, this new knowledge will allow physicians a greater grasp of the effectiveness of various treatments and medications. Last summer scientists grasped the key to mapping the human genome. This scientific discovery will allow for the diagnosis of thousands of genetic or chromosomal disorders ranging from mental handicaps to inherited heart disease to predisposition to breast cancer. They may elect to continue or terminate a complicated pregnancy based on these findings.