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Article: Genetic and biological advances help unlock mysteries of mental retardation.(The Dallas Morning News)
- Article from:
- Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service
- Article date:
- September 5, 2002
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 2002 Knight-Ridder/Tribune News Service. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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DALLAS _ Scientists devote a lot of brainpower to figuring out how the brain works. They're also trying to solve something equally mysterious _ why, in cases of mental retardation, the brain doesn't work quite right.
The hundreds of known causes of mental retardation range from genetic abnormalities to toxic substances such as alcohol and lead. Still, for about a third of people with mental retardation _ defined as an IQ below 70 to 75 _ no cause has yet been found.
But new avenues of research based on advances in genetics, biology and cell science are helping brain scientists solve these mysteries.
In Down syndrome brains, for instance, cells ...