Common Male birth defect; Gene discovered.

      Hypospadias is a common congenital condition affects around every one in 400 infant boys. This condition is where the urethral opening is not located at the correct position of the male reproductive organ. With immediate surgery needed to correct the condition, many males have psychological and sexual consequences later in life, due to the malformation. King’s College of London and Radboud University of The Netherlands have recently discovered a new gene associated with this condition, along with the inheritance traits. The information from their study was located in the Science Daily article, “Scientists find Gene linked to male birth defects”.
      The article stated that through a series of tests, scientists were able to uncover that the boys with modified DGKK genes have a greater chance of have the condition of hypospadias. The DGKK gene was found to be located on the X chromosome, which means that it is inherited by the mother. With this information, new prenatal studies can be done to determine whether a particular male fetus will be born with the hypospadias condition. With discoveries in this condition and many others like it, scientists are becoming one step closer into understanding the idea of genetics and the modification effects of particular genes.