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Elucidation of the structure of DNA by J.D. Watson and Francis Crick was exciting because of its potential to explain the function of this molecule. I find this book, which examines the expansion of oligonucleotide triplet-repeat sequences in patients with neurologic disease, similarly engrossing, since it affords major insights into molecular pathogenesis. The disruption such mutations cause within a coding or noncoding region of a gene can, like more commonly recognized mutations, affect the gene's performance, but abnormal triplet-repeat sequences have additional consequences.
For instance, the mechanism of genetic anticipation and increasing penetrance, whereby disease develops in a more severe
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