Though many of us research our
ancestry to learn about whom we come from and the circumstances of their life,
another aspect can be to compile a health history. Whether we suffer from something which might
be an inherited condition or not, it is always beneficial to have a grasp of
one’s health history.
We recently talked about Who do you resemble? Are you a doppleganger for someone in your family or has the visual connection remained elusive? This post focused more on family resemblances
whether to a sibling, parent, or more distant relation.
Apparently, family
photos might also help identify non-diagnosed health issues. I recently read Scanning Family Photos Can Reveal Rare Genetic Disorders (Newsweek).
Over 7,000
rare genetic disorders are known, and although each is unique, there is at
least one common thread: 30 to 40 percent of them involve detectable
abnormalities in the cranium and face. The Oxford project, called Clinical Face
Phenotype Space, builds on this knowledge, melding machine learning and
computer technology to scan family photos and cross-reference them with a
database built from images of people with known genetic disorders.
You can read more
here, Key to ultra-rare
genetic disorders? Scientists create face recognition software for better
diagnosis.
It’s nice to know
that our family photos besides giving us a great visual perspective of our
ancestors and helping to identify who we might resemble, might also aid the future diagnosis of select genetic disorders.
Do family photos help us in other ways?
Editor’s Note: Thanksgiving
is designated National Family Health History Day. Upfront with NGS has
discussed this Celebrate National Family Heath History day (aka Thanksgiving Day) --
Create a Health Pedigree Chart! (2013).
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