Each year investigators in medical genetics and other disciplines descend on Lancaster County to inquire about family histories of disease and gather DNA samples from these plain people. A number of factors make the two groups appealing for research in medical genetics. Their religious conservatism and selective use of technology isolate them from the population at large. Extensive genealogical records kept by the Amish and Mennonites make them one of the "best-defined" inbred groups in the United States (J.A. Hostetler, Amish Society, 4th ed., Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University Press, 1993).
While many scientists come to the farms of Lancaster County only to soon return to their laboratories, biochemist and pediatrician D. Holmes Morton is one of the few who have come to call Lancaster County home. After receiving an M.D. from Harvard University and serving a fellowship in biochemistry at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Morton opened the Clinic for Special ...
