New Down's Test

Because a pregnant woman’s blood carries white blood cells of her own and her unborn child, it is possible to conceive of DNA sequencing of the fetus from a blood sample of the mother (rather than relying on more intrusive amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling).  While this piece mainly addresses Down’s syndrome, it makes a point that many relatively rare genetic disorders are misdiagnosed—a situation that DNA sequencing might tremendously improve.    MORE

Image Credit: Getty  and Scotsman.com