Tay-Sachs disease occurs in 1 of every 3600 births among Jews from central and eastern

Chapter 0, Problem 41

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Tay-Sachs disease occurs in 1 of every 3600 births among Jews from central and eastern Europe, and in 1 in 600,000 births in other populations. The disease causes abnormal accumulation of certain fat compounds in the spinal cord and brain, resulting in paralysis, blindness, and mental impairment. Death generally occurs before the age of five. If we use t to represent a Tay-Sachs gene and T a healthy gene, the table below shows the four possibilities for the children of one healthy, TT, parent, and one parent who carries the disease, Tt, but is not sick. Second Parent T t First T TT Tt Parent T TT Tt a. Find the probability that a child of these parents will be a carrier without the disease. b. Find the probability that a child of these parents will have the disease.