Mapping of the female chromosome will shed new light on disease and differences in the sexes

An international team of researchers announced Wednesday that they have cataloged all the genes on the female X chromosome, a technical feat expected to enable fresh insights into women's health and add a genetic component to the debate over differences between the sexes.

Described by the head of the Human Genome Project as "a monumental achievement for biology and medicine," the genetic map should help scientists better understand more than 300 X-linked diseases--such as hemophilia, Fragile X Syndrome and Duchenne muscular dystrophy--that mothers pass on to their sons.

"From studying such genes, we can get remarkable insight into disease processes. But the importance of the sequence goes beyond individual genes," said Mark Ross, project leader at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute in Hinxton, England.

The sequencing was carried out by more than 250 researchers as part of the Human Genome Project. They worked at the Sanger Institute, Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics in Berlin, the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology in Jena, Germany, and Applied Biosystems Inc. in Foster City, Calif.

•	Mapping of the female chromosome will shed new light on disease and differences in the sexes 1,098 genes decoded, meet the amazing Ms. X Chicago Tribune, Thursday, March 17, 2005 Byline: Peter Gorner, Tribune science reporter

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