The X cromossome

[Margarida]

A regular woman usually has two X cromossomes, one of them is inactivated. Why does the Turner's Syndrome and the Klinefelter Syndrome leads to mental retardation? If, apparently, only one X cromossome is necessary, then why is it such a severe condition when you have Turner's Syndrome? Or if someone has 3 X cromossomes, why can't be 2 X cromossomes inactivated?

[Brett Nortje]

A regular woman usually has two X cromossomes, one of them is inactivated. Why does the Turner's Syndrome and the Klinefelter Syndrome leads to mental retardation? If, apparently, only one X cromossome is necessary, then why is it such a severe condition when you have Turner's Syndrome? Or if someone has 3 X cromossomes, why can't be 2 X cromossomes inactivated?

 

You could simply breed a disease that eats chromosomes. this would be where you put the chromosomes inside a test tube with something like the cold, then see it will eat those chromosomes, or, something more malicious. then, you can apply it carefully to eat the extra chromosomes, yes?

[EdEarl]

You could simply breed a disease that eats chromosomes. this would be where you put the chromosomes inside a test tube with something like the cold, then see it will eat those chromosomes, or, something more malicious. then, you can apply it carefully to eat the extra chromosomes, yes?

IDK

A strand of DNA contains all the chromosomes, which are shaped as X, Y, etc. because the DNA strand is twisted and folded to make those shapes. If a chromosome is eaten, it sounds like the DNA would be severed into two parts, and that might not be a good thing. I think virus treatment of DNA just changes the base pair sequences into different sequences. Thus, an extra X might be changed to another shape with a different effect or perhaps no effect.

 

Maybe someone who knows more than I will have a better explanation.

[jp255]

To the OP, read my post there. I don't know much about Turner's syndrome or the physiology of it, but there are some clinically relevant genetic explanations. http://www.scienceforums.net/topic/70254-genetics/?hl=turner#entry711647

 

The points can be extended to klinefelters also. Though I don't know if 2 chromosomes in klinefelters will be inactivated by the inactivation system.

You could simply breed a disease that eats chromosomes. this would be where you put the chromosomes inside a test tube with something like the cold, then see it will eat those chromosomes, or, something more malicious. then, you can apply it carefully to eat the extra chromosomes, yes?

How is this relevant to the OP's question? and what are you even talking about?

 

 

A strand of DNA contains all the chromosomes

Perhaps you can elaborate on this?

[EdEarl]

Perhaps you can elaborate on this?

 

Within cells, DNA is organized into long structures called chromosomes.

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA

A chromosome is an organized structure of DNA, protein

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chromosome

 

The best explanation I know of is here:

https://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/evolution-and-natural-selection/v/dna

[hypervalent_iodine]

You could simply breed a disease that eats chromosomes. this would be where you put the chromosomes inside a test tube with something like the cold, then see it will eat those chromosomes, or, something more malicious. then, you can apply it carefully to eat the extra chromosomes, yes?

 

!

Moderator Note

Hi Brett,

 

As this thread is in the main science area of the forum, we ask that you restrict your comments to mainstream science only. Speculations are not permitted here.