Graphical and Computationally Intensive Techniques for Presenting and Disseminating Information About the Genetics of Disease

Abstract

Exactly how genetic factors contribute to the onset of disease is not fully understood. All the same, information and images pertaining to genetics and disease remain arguably serviceable when they produce agreeable diagnostic, prognostic, and, ultimately, therapeutic results. This article begins with a historical survey of graphical techniques concerning hereditary disease. The article then goes on to show how information gathering and representation broadened steadily to accommodate genetic diagnostic tests. This leads, in a final step, to an examination of the capacity of computational genetics and genomics to generate working models of what causes disease.