Keywords, machine extracted. Top 50 words repeated twice, next 100 once, plus phrases. A major underlying concern at issue is whether the exposure to ionizing ra- diation could cause an excess occurrence of genetic disease in the offspring of the Atomic Veterans. There is an intuitive sense in the use of the term genetic disease that is understood by both scientists and the general public for most pur- poses, but the meaning of the term is, in fact, quite elusive when it is needed for the purpose of considering the feasibility of an investigation. Other diseases are due to defects in single genes and are inherited according to the laws of Mendel, such as familial hypercholes- terolemia, Huntington disease, and neurofibromatosis.
Some birth defects have major environmental determinants, which are called teratogens.
Most body cells, called somatic cells, have two sets of chromosomes, one from each parent, for a total of 46 chromosomes in each cell. Sperm and egg cells, which are called germ cells, have just one set of chromosomes. The remaining 22 chromosomes are called autosomes. Usually, the two genes work in concert to produce normal cellular struc- tures and functions. Sometimes, one or both genes may be so altered that a dis- ease may result.