Forward.com

One Big, Happy FamilyHistororically speaking, Jews have hardly been strangers to the art of drawing sharp distinctions among themselves. But according to a mounting body of scientific evidence, Jews — genetically speaking, at least — may have more in common than anyone previously suspected.
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Philanthropist Puts Genetic Diseases to The TestAs someone who has lost two daughters to familial dysautonomia, Lois Victor knows all too well the pain that can be wrought by genetic disease.
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For Dystonia Sufferers, New Film Hits a NerveWhen she was 10, Miriam Kimmelman began to lose control of her body; it would twist into a variety of abnormal postures. The symptoms progressed fast. Before long, she could walk only backward. After seeing about 100 doctors in two years, she was diagnosed with dystonia, a neurological disorder that affects more than 300,000 Americans. Thanks to surgery, Kimmelman, now 58, is much improved. She was married (now widowed) and works as a rehabilitation counselor, but her whole body, including her breathing and facial muscles, can still behave irregularly.
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