An Early Model of Bipolar Illness Postulated That a Single

question 10

Essay

An early model of bipolar illness postulated that a single gene was responsible for the phenotype. This led to the "discovery" of a locus on chromosome 11 thought to be the gene responsible for this behavioral abnormality. Further work caused the retraction of this discovery, but the issues raised in this case have not been fully resolved. What are the problems associated with a single gene model, and how do they affect the search for the gene?

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Definitions:

Usable Energy

energy that is available for doing work in a system, after accounting for energy lost as heat or in other unusable forms.

Transformed

Altered in form, appearance, or structure, especially significantly so.

Substrate Concentration

The amount of substrate present that can be acted upon by enzymes in a chemical reaction.

Reaction Rate

The speed at which a chemical reaction proceeds, typically measured by the change in concentration of reactants or products over time.