How to give birth to a healthy baby? Why does my child have heart problems? Will I develop Huntington's chorea like my father and grandfather? The topic of genetic diseases is becoming commonplace these days, however, many people have a vague idea of what medical genetics is. Unlike a therapist who follows a patient from cradle to grave, a geneticist follows his life before it begins and years after it ends. During his professional career, Dr. Kirk had the opportunity to participate in the lives of thousands of people, and this period coincided with an era of unprecedented breakthroughs in genetics. The experience of a practicing physician and scientist, combined with the gift of a storyteller, allowed the author to write an excellent overview of the history of medical genetics and evaluate its prospects, clarifying using real examples, the most difficult questions for everyone who wants to understand the intricacies of this new science. “However, the history of human genetics is, first of all, human history. It consists of the stories of people whose lives are affected by genetics - in fact, of course, it affects everyone, but it affects some more noticeably and more severely than others. This is the story of that little girl, doomed from the very moment of conception. This is the story of a researcher who looked through a microscope in her laboratory and read the fate of a girl written in the language of cells. This is Anna's story—and my own. This is the story of people who first learned what a chromosome is and how it may relate to disease.”

For whom the book will be of interest to biologists, geneticists, doctors, including pediatricians, as well as anyone interested in science about man in general and human genetics in particular. And also for those who are interested in family planning, genetic testing, and all young modern people who think about the health of their future children.