According to new research, the chance of SARS-CoV-2 having a natural origin is less than 1 in 100 million.1,2 The paper3 was posted on the preprint server BioRxiv October 20, 2022. One of its authors, mathematical biologist Alex Washburne, also summarizes the work in a Substack article,4 posted that same day. The other two authors… Read More »
One of the most common causes of hereditary cancer, Lynch syndrome affects some 1.1 million Americans, who face a lifetime risk of colorectal cancer as high as 80 percent as well as elevated rates of many other cancers, including of the endometrium, kidneys, ovaries and prostate. Patients seldom learn they carry the mutations associated with… Read More »
A genetic variant found only in people of African descent significantly increases a smoker’s preference for cigarettes containing menthol, a flavor additive. The variant of the MRGPRX4 gene is five to eight times more frequent among smokers who use menthol cigarettes than other smokers, according to an international group of researchers supported by the U.S.… Read More »
Identical twin toddlers who presented with severe arthritis helped scientists to identify the first gene mutation that can single-handedly cause a juvenile form of this inflammatory joint disease. By investigating the DNA of individual blood cells of both children and then modelling the genetic defect in a mouse model, the research team led by Adrian… Read More »
For the past two decades, scientists have been exploring the genetics of schizophrenia, autism and other brain disorders, looking for a path toward causation. If the biological roots of such ailments could be identified, treatments might follow, or at least tests that could reveal a person’s risk level. In the 1990s, researchers focused on genes… Read More »