Researchers at Children's Mercy Hospital in Kansas City, Mo.,
may have hit upon a way to dramatically speed up how fast an
infant can be tested for genetic disorders, according to reports
by the Associated Press and other media outlets. The hospital
announced on Wednesday that it had discovered a way to use a
combination of gene-analyzing machinery, computer software, and
a baby's symptoms to rapidly narrow down the list of possible
causes for the infant's illness. The initial study conducted by
the hospital was small, involving just a few children. The
results of the testing model were so promising, however, that
the hospital plans to begin using it to help diagnose all ill
infants that end up in its neonatal intensive care unit by the
end of the year. Here is some of the key information regarding
this new way to use genome-mapping to help diagnose genetic
disorders in infants. * Dr. Stephen Kingsmore, who is the head
of the pediatric genome center at Children's Mercy Hospital,
told the Associated Press on W