Editing Navajo Nation (section)

===Severe combined immunodeficiency===
One in every 2,500 children in the Navajo population inherits [[severe combined immunodeficiency]] (SCID). This [[genetic disorder]] results in births of children with virtually no [[immune system]]. In the general population, the genetic disorder is much rarer, affecting one in 100,000 children. The disorder is sometimes known as "bubble boy disease". This condition is a significant cause of illness and death among Navajo children. Research reveals a similar genetic pattern among the related [[Apache]].

In a December 2007 [[Associated Press]] article, Mortan Cowan, director of the Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant Program at the [[University of California, San Francisco]], noted that, although researchers have identified about a dozen genes that cause SCID, the Navajo/Apache population has the most severe form of the disorder. This is due to the mutations in the [[gene]] ''DCLRE1C'', which leads to a defective copy of the protein [[Artemis (protein)|Artemis]]. Without the gene, children's bodies are unable to [[DNA repair|repair DNA]] or develop disease-fighting cells.<ref>Fonseca, ''Salt Lake Tribune,'' B10</ref>