Discover the Science of Health
A new research study at Boston Children’s Hospital, in partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW) and the Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin Research Institute, is using genetic information to predict children’s reactions to medications. The goal is to enable clinicians to select a more personalized therapy for each patient.
Researchers have identified a genomic variant strongly associated with sensitivity to the sun, brown hair, blue eyes — and freckles. In the study of Icelanders the researchers uncovered an intricate pathway involving the interspersed DNA sequence, or non-coding region, of a gene that is among a few dozen that are associated with human pigmentation traits. The study by an international team including researchers from the National Institutes of Health was reported in the journal Cell [1].
Nobody’s perfect, not even the healthiest among us. Scientists from the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute and Cardiff University have determined that, on average, a normal healthy person carries approximately 400 protein-damaging DNA mutations and two mutations directly linked with a high risk of disease. The research was published in the December 7th issue of The American Journal of Human Genetics [1].
Researchers have identified a common gene variant that is responsible for a person’s tendency to be an early riser or a night owl. This common genetic variant also helps determine the time of day a person is most likely to die. The findings appear in the November 2012 issue of the Annals of Neurology.
Work stress, job satisfaction and health problems due to high stress have more to do with genetics than previously recognized, according to a study published in the journal Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
