Albinism

Albinism
For my research project I have chosen·
the genetic disease albinism. There are a few reasons why I chose albinism as my
topic. First and foremost, in kindergarten I had a friend who was an albino, and
although I have not seen him in over 10 years I am still curious as to what the
causes of albinism are. Back then, my mother explained it to me by saying,

"that's just the way his skin is" which is a fine way to explain it to a
five year old, but now I find myself wanting to know more. Another reason I am
curious about albinism actually extends from my first reason. I often wondered
if there was any chance that my kids could possibly be born with it. I know now
that it sounds a little bit ridiculous but I would sometimes worry that I
wouldn't be able to take my children to the beach (I knew this because my
friend from kindergarten could never come with us when we went in the summer). I
also used to wonder whether or not my friend could see the same way I could,
since his eyes looked so different from mine. As a result of all of this, I
could not turn down the opportunity to research a disease that has held my
curiosity for PHENOTYPIC

CHARACTERISTICS The most prominent phenotypic
such a long time.characteristic of albinism is obviously the lack of skin coloring. Albino
skin is whitish in appearance, sometimes seeming to be almost translucent.

Similarly, albino hair is also very pale, appearing closer to white than blonde.

Albinism makes the skin extremely sensitiv...

Albinism

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