This is Greg. Greg is a nice young man who loves to go to the beach.

When he is at the beach, he likes to relax in the sun, and occasionally get in the water to cool off.

After coming home from the beach, Greg has to study. His biology class is learning about Genetics!

Lately, he has been reading about how his body makes proteins.

As he read, Greg learned about how his body makes proteins from DNA. One section discussed what happens when proteins or the protein making process malfunctions. Greg was adopted, and so he felt curious about what his bio parents left him for DNA.

What Greg didn't know is that his mother passed away from something called Huntington's disease. It occurs on the 4th chromosome, where the "huntingtin" protein is coded for.

Now its your turn to write the story....

Turn to page 7 to see what happens if Greg contracts Huntington's Disease.

Turn to page 12 to see what Greg's life would be like if he didnt contract Huntington's Disease .

Greg's mom had one gene that is positive for Huntington's, and one that was normal. Unfortunately, this meant she got the disease.

Greg has a 50/50 chance of getting the gene that codes for Huntington's. Luck for Greg, he got his mom's normal gene!

When Greg's body goes to create the Huntingtin protein, the mRNA that is sent to the ribosome has way too many GUC sequences. The ribosomes in Greg's cells then makes a protein that is malformed, big, and bulky.

The protein synthesis that Greg was learning about in Biology class was coming to life right before his eyes!

Over time, the buildup of this protein begins to affect Greg's brain, and he shows symptoms of Huntington's disease. Because the protein is oversized, it takes up too much space in Greg's brain and begins to negatively impact its ability to function normally.