Faulty control gene underlies retardation

Rett syndrome, a common cause of severe retardation in women, is caused by a gene on the X chromosome that regulates other genes.

Amir, R.E. . . . and H.Y. Zoghbi. 1999. Rett syndrome is caused by mutations in X-linked MECP2, encoding methyl-CpG-binding protein 2. Nature Genetics 23(October):185.

Willard, H.F., and B.D. Hendrich. 1999. Breaking the silence in Rett syndrome. Nature Genetics 23(October):127.

Hagmann, M. 1999. How chromatin changes its shape. Science 285(Aug. 20):1200.

Alan K. Percy
University of Alabama, Birmingham
Ambulatory Care Center
Birmingham, AL 35294

Huda Y. Zoghbi
Baylor College of Medicine
One Baylor Plaza
Room T807
Mail Stop Code 225
Houston, TX 77030

From Science News, Vol. 156, No. 14, October 2, 1999, p. 214. Copyright © 1999, Science Service.