How many diseases are linked to specific genes?
How many diseases have genes associated with their malfunctions? Check back on the links below and watch the numbers go up throughout the course!
- HERE is a periodically-updated list. As of 14 years ago (Jan 27, 2011), 2949 diseases were known with "Phenotype description, molecular basis known: Total". Today (Jan 31, 2025), it's 6943 diseases—an average increase of about a new one discovered per day!
- How many disease genes are there? See "Total number of genes with phenotype-causing mutation" here. As of Jan 31, 2025, it's 4958 genes.
Identifying a gene associated with a disease can be a big step toward developing both diagnostics and treatments. What kinds of genes are being discovered now? HERE is a link to news stories on discoveries made in the past month. HERE's how they're discovered.
