A Genetical View of Cardiovascular Disease

T HE last 10 to 15 years have seen phenomenal advances in genetics. Assuming universality of the basic principles of life, geneticists and biochemists-in recent years it has become increasingly difficult to distinguish the two-have opportunistically attacked the questions of the nature of the gene and how it works in whatever form of life yields its secrets most readily. They have provided us with the dogma of one-cistron-one-polypeptide-chain, or somewhat loosely translated , one-gene-one-protein-unit. A holy trinity-DNA, RNA, and protein-is envisioned. How structural genes-those that determine the make-up of proteins, enzymatic and non-enzymatic-are themselves constituted and how they work have been rather clearly revealed. Still shrouded in obscurity, however, are most of the details of how the genes themselves are controlled. Here is the enigma of differentiation and development. All somatic cells have the same full complement of genes, as far as anyone knows. Why do some genes