To Laius, King of Thebes, an oracle foretold that the child born to him by his queen Jocasta would slay his father and wed his mother. One of the lesser breed should feel honoured that a member of the holy race that was born to inherit life eternal should deign even to notice him.
Down syndrome survival. The life expectancy of people with Down syndrome increased dramatically between 1960 and 2007. In 1960, on average, persons with Down syndrome lived to be about 10 years old. In 2007, on average, persons with Down syndrome lived to be about 47 years old. [Read summary] Many factors can affect how long a person with Down syndrome lives. Sometimes infants with Down syndrome are born weighing less than 1,500 grams, or about 3.3 pounds.
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder. Most people have 46 chromosomes in each cell. Children with Down syndrome have 47 chromosomes. They have an extra copy of chromosome 21. Normally, we inherit 23 chromosomes from our mother and 23 chromosomes from our father (for a total of 46). Babies with Down syndrome inherit an extra copy of chromosome 21 leading to 3 copies (one from Mom, one from Dad, plus one extra). We call this Trisomy 21.