Old and New Tech Combine to Research Genetic Disorders in Children

By Associated Press

Published May 4, 2015 at 4:46 PM CDT

KANSAS CITY, Kan. (AP) — Genetic disorders in children are being explored at the University of Kansas Medical Center with a pairing of next-generation and century-old research methods. The Lawrence Journal World reports that the new method is a roughly $1 million machine that can sequence a person's DNA in as fast as two days. The findings are used to create mouse embryos with genetic mutations matching the human profiles being studied. Once the special mice are born and mature, researchers will observe them for symptoms that match those reported in the sick child. Another technique that is used is the old-school maze. A healthy mouse would explore all the arms, while one with cognitive loss would not.

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