r., .. Aw-r - I I I 1 -11 1 A I I I I I I I I I Page Two THE MICHIGAN DAILY Sunday, Mardi 25, 1956 Sunday, February 26, 1956 THE MICHIGAN DAILY ,. Sound Factual Information For People with a Problem Michigan's Heredity Clinic-Pioneering in Research & The American Co-ed A Critical-But Appreciative View By GEOFFREY de DENEY I, Jear 6o-ed. By PETE ECKSTEIN HEIR been FIRST child may have born with a harelip. An uncle may have experienced complete m e n t a l deterioration during hi's thirties. A sister may have given birth to a Mongolian idiot. Whatever the specific reason, thousands of couples every year are wondering: what are the risks in having children? The University's Heredity Clinic specializes in answering such questions. Last year it gave hun- dreds of anxious couples scientific information to help thnm plan their families on the basis of facts, not superstition and rumor. "WHEN A child is born with a congenital abnormality," Dr. James V. Neel, who is in charge of the Clinic, explains, "some people feel the next child is cer- tain to be doomed. Others feel the abnormality is 'out of the parents' systems and there is no more danger." Neither attitude is correct. Some defects believed to be inherited may prove the result of accidental environmental factors. Few actual hereditary characteristics are ab- solutely certain to be transmitted to a given child. On the other hand the heredi- tary makeup of the second child is derived from the same parental stock as that of the first. The odds for or againsta specific heredi- tary characteristic being trans- mitted are the same for all child- ren of the same parents. Given the identical odds, one birth does not influence the char- acteristics of the next, just as one flip of a coin in no way influences the next. MANY COUPLES come to the Clinic wondering about a de- fect believed to be hereditary which has occurred in the family history. The Clinic is often able to give them a fairly accurate answer- even if they have had no previous children-to the important ques- tion: what are the odds? A typical case, with details changed to preserve anonymity, shows how that answer is often sufficient for an informed solu- tion to the problem: A young woman, call her Mary Smith, came to the Clinic with this story: two older brothers had developed a wasting disease of Counseling their leg muscles and were now invalids. She was contemplating marriage and 'Was worried not only for herself but for her pos- sible children. A thorough medical examina- tion was conducted at University Hospital's Outpatient Clinic, where the heredity organization has space. Mary seemed entirely DR. JAMES V. NEEL ... to Japan and Africa for a better look at the gene Phone O -5604 214 So. Fourth Ave. OPEN DAILY 9 A.M. TO 5:30 P.M. -MONDAY 9 A.M. TO 9 P.M. Don't Miss these outstanding SPECIALS -FOR MEN Regular 2.98 DRESS SHIRTS 1.9 Choice of white or colored. Large selection of pink. Stock up now at this terrific price. Com- pare with nationally advertised brands at 3.95. REG. $1.50 Pure Silk Neckties 2~1.50 SPECIAL PURCHASE - Mens Dress Trousers 7 All the new spring shades and styles. These trousers would usually sell for 9.95. Only a special. purchase made this low low price possible.4 - I... I sound. But to answer her question it was necessary to go into the family history minutely. W HEN POSSIBLE, the Clinic W ascertains family histories by correspondence. In this case it seemed more desirable to send one of the Clinic's two trained social workers into the field to inter- view members of the family Some recalled a similar diffi- culty in Mary's maternal grand- father, who had died at an early age, and medical records confirm- ed that he had also suffered from the disease. The evidence added up to the fact that the defect Mary was concerned over was "sex-linked," so-named because it is carried on the "X" chromosome, one of the two which determine a baby's sex. Such characteristics are trans- mitted by both men and women, but usually only manifest them- selves in male carriers. Mary was told, therefore, that she was in little danger of de- veloping the disease herself. How- ever, the odds were even that she was a carrier, since her mother had been one and transmitted the defect to her brothers. If Mary was a carrier, half her sons might be afflicted. On the basis of this information, Mary and her fiance decided to adopt children. Their two adopted sons are healthy and normal. THE HEREDITY CLINIC does its work against a formidable background. Dr. Neel gives "a very rough estimate" that between one and three million Americans suffer from serious inherited de- fects. The cause of a particular defect is not always clear. 'Almost any trait can in part be influenced by heredity. Almost all can be alter- ed by environment," he explained. Drawing the line as to just where hereditary factors end and environmental ones begin is "as complex a problem as we have to wrestle with in biology." Estimates can be made, how- ever. Geneticists believe, for ex- ample, that one-half the cases of blindness and deaf-mutism are at- tributable to hereditary factors. For some defects the pattern of inheritance is clear-cut and has been ascertained, though it can never be predicted with certainty for a given case. These include certain nervous disorders, some abnormalities of the blood, de- fects in vision and hearing and a variety of imperfections of the teeth, hair and nails. Some of these defects are trans- mitted primarily by parents ex- hibiting the characteristics, others may show up in children with only a distant, if any, family record for the disease. BUT IN the bulk of abnormalities in which heredity is a large factor, the exact role of inheri- tance is either indefinite or not yet clearly understood. Schizophrenia, for example, has been proven to be 15 times more prevalent among children who have a schizophrenic parent than among those who do not. Geneticists are quick to qualify such 'statistics by pointing out that the individuals studied all grew up in the home environment -and living with a schizophrenic parent may be as important a, factor as being born of one. Scientists generally agree, how- ever, that tendencies toward dia- betes, some specific types of can- cer and heart disease, and manic- depressive insanity are apt to be greater among individuals with MET YOU first on the beaches of Perpignan. You came from Wellesley. I loved you for your freshness, your interest in people, your independence and you good sense. I didn't know then that I should have the chance to meet you in your own surroundings but I considered how agreeable the prospect would be.gh The next time I saw you was on an ocean liner, when you passed me wearing Bermuda shorts and knee socks and the breeze was blowing through your short curls. In these surroundings, again, you were somethingz fresh and young.! Perhaps I didn't realize how young. Now I have lived in proximity to you for over six months and the time seems to have come for a reassessment. MY impression of you on the campus from the start has been confused by the haunting. feeling which I could never com- pletely eliminate that I was always seeing the same one of you. It was some time before I realized; that here, unlike anywhere else in the world, girls, far from disliking to be seen wearing the same clothes, go out of their way to achieve that very result. The result would be less disturb- ing if the sought-for appearance were an ideal of beauty. But each change of season has brought a more hideous uniform which stales your charm. Whatever may have been the position two or three centuries ago,, it is now generally recognized that girls have longer hair than boys, but the distinction on the Ameri- can campus is becoming hard to make. The male undergraduate makes every sacrifice to try to retain the distinction but however closely he has his head shaved you still succeed in your attempts to be mistaken for one. Writing in the 2nd century A.D. Apuleius thought with horror of how the beauty of women could be changed to uglinesseif they cut their hair. In this century those women who were considered to have betrayed their country had their hair shaved off as the great- est public degradation and ignom- iny a woman can suffer. What is a European to think when he sees you collectively on campus but that addressing you, dear co-ed, it would have been "the clothes you wear and should not wear." It should be emphasized from the start that the shape of a sack was designed for its function of con- taining miscellaneous goods, gen- erally of a vegetgble or carboni- ferous nature, most -conveniently. somehow you are submitting to a It was never intended as a model similar degradation in taking a for the garb of the highest creation college education, and wonder at of God. your courage in enduring sucho self-imposed unotti anctiveness. The Yet I see nothing day long but "little boy" look went out in the coats cut clearly out of three ob- 1920's, or should have. Why revive longs and pulled together at the it now. You look so much nicer as back by a belt which works simply a woman. on the principle of gravity, and by hanging low gives a distant W HEN Chesterton wrote his !suggestion of a waist. (Editor's "Ballade for a Grande Dame" Note.: Mr. de Deney is refering to he spoke of "the clothes you wear what is commonly known as "The or do not wear." But had he been Polo Coat.") They are ugly: hor- These are the last refuge of the sloppy dresser. Of heavy, clumsy wool, they hang untidily around the ankles and are invariable dirty. They can be replaced perfectly with tight neat ankle socks, and should be. Sneakers are used for athletic ac- tivities. They should be worn at no other time. Even if their continual use is not bad for the feet, it is offensive to the eye. I am sure. you can defend all that I have attacked on grounds of comfort. But in this, as in everything else, there are other people to consider. Why should you be comfortable if it will make you look so unattractive. Were you only to pay more attention to what suits you, as an individual, you would succeed in rasing your own self-respect, and also that of the f -Daily-John Hirtzel ribly ugly. Change them. I SUPPOSE it is too late to alter the way you cover your lower extremities. When you are tall and slender and wear the right things to match, you sometimes please in knee socks. But there can never be any excuse for bobby socks. t s f t f s t f r t 1 1 r L { 4 f'1 C 3 't f r t k E T j . c t i '1 7 I 1 1 1 j i -Daily-John Hirtzel AN ENGLISHMAN'S IMPRESSION: "The 'Little Boy' look went out in the 1920's. Why revive it now? More (Continued from Page 2)7 cases of the disorder in their fam- p ily records. t Such facts are not new, though many of them are newly-discov- i ered.a YET IT is only since 1941 that any large-scale program of i advising would-be parents has b been in operation. il In that year Dr. Lee R. Dice, m now director of the University's t Institute of Human Biology, of t which the Clinic is a part, found- d ed the Heredity Clinic. It was the t first center for genetic counseling e in America. g Since that time some 10 other centers have been estabWshed, t many after detailed investigation b of the University's Clinic. Two other professional geneticists serve A with Dr. Neel: Prof. William J. s Schull and T. Edward Reed. Eight f more workers, mostly in research, g round out the Clinic's staff.- s The geneticists' time is divided g about equally between teaching in the zoology department and g medical school, public service, t which includes counseling, and , research. 1 ,Work THE MOST elaborate research project they are now partici- pating in is a study in Japan of he amount of genetic change or "mutation" resulting from the atomic bomb. The human organ- ss is in delicate balance, and an change is likely to be for the worse. "The genetic effects of an atom- c bomb are a little like an ice- erg," Dr. Neel commented, "most- y hidden. We don't know how much is under water. We-do know here's a great deal," that many imes the number of abnormalities detected among the first genera- ion of survivor's offspring can be xpected to show up in future generations. Dr. Neel has made five trips o Japan in connection with the bomb studies, Prof. Schull two. Dr. Neel recently returned from Africa where he is conducting tudies into abnormalities in the ormation of the protein hemo- lobin, the oxygen-carrying sub- tance in red-blood cells which ives them their color. From the studies the investi- gators hope to learn more about he genetic control of the forma- ion of proteins, a mystery at present. You look much nicer as a woman." Than 0 Other public service functions of the Heredity Clinic include work with babies who are being considered for adoption. Examin- ations are conducted for signs of disease found in the child's family background, Opinions as to the probable racial background of a baby are sometimes sought by adoption agencies which require such in- formation before placing the child in a home. ONE OF the Clinic's more sen- sational cases came several years ago when two Michigan families suspected their three year-old daughters had been switched in the hospital where they were born. The Clinic was called in and it verified the sus- picions through comparisons of the inherited "Rh" blood types of both sets of parents with those of the children. The comparisons ruled out one set of parents as the possible mother and father of the girl they had raised and loved for three years. Nothing in the Clinic's tests contradicted the idea that the children had been switched. Iram Fortunately for a happy solu- tion, one of the girls had been boarded out to an elderly couple when her "parents" were divorced. Her real parents welcomed her into their home and kept the girl they had raised. The whole story received national publicity when written up recently in Reader's Digest. BUT MOST of the work of the Clinic never makes- the news- papers and popular magazines. It is done quietly in a crowded little two-story frame house tucked away on the far north side of campus, where interns at the Hospital were housed for many years. While some of the Clinic's work is dramatic, most of it is labor- ious-compiling statistics, exam- ining patients, drawing up quest- ionaires. The quiet atmosphere is some- what in keeping with the results of the Clinic's work. For while dealing with . the elements of heredity-in which the future of the human race quite literally re- sides-the aim is not revolution in the nature of the species, just sound, factual information foi people with a problem. i f a ''i " " 1, Ai S SPORT COATS