March 18, 2013
Late last year researchers with support from the Chordoma Foundation identified a genetic marker associated with that rare form of bone cancer. The Chordoma Foundation has also partnered with 23andMe to raise awareness about our Sarcoma Research Initiative aimed at better understanding genetic associations [...]
March 4, 2013
Researchers have long believed that genetics put some people at higher risk for mental illness than others, but exactly which genes are involved has remained a mystery. Even very large studies have come up with relatively few insights into the genetics of mental illness. But a study published last week in [...]
February 22, 2013
Image by Mariana Ruiz LadyofHats [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons New research suggests that a once-fatal congenital heart defect — sometimes called “blue baby syndrome” — is influenced by genetic factors that are broadly found in the general population. Different heart malformations lead to [...]
January 24, 2013
You probably know that smoking and excessive drinking are bad for you. But did you know that your genetics also factor into how much those vices can impact your health? Healthy lifestyle choice — like avoiding cigarettes — make you less susceptible to a host to diseases. For instance, non-smokers live, [...]
January 18, 2013
Here’s something to file under “Thank Goodness!” Researchers at the University of Bristol found that people with the genetic variant making them more prone to smelly armpits are also more likely to wear deodorant. The paper, published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, looked at variants in [...]
September 11, 2012
For back-to-school month we’re running a series of posts on genetic factors that may impact learning. Here we describe a variant that may influence a person’s ability to learn from their mistakes. In a prior post we discuss a variant linked to non-verbal IQ performance. Attribution: [...]
May 24, 2012
Crohn’s disease develops when the immune system mistakenly attacks the body’s own gut cells. Although most people with European ancestry are pretty genetically similar, some sub-groups like Ashkenazi Jews have distinct genetic characteristics that carry important implications for health. For instance, [...]
May 10, 2012
If you have a big head, you may be subjected to a fair bit of teasing, but science may offer you some consolation. For instance, individuals with a smaller intracranial volume (the area within the skull) are at slightly higher risk for late-life dementia. In addition, a smaller hippocampus (a section of the [...]
April 13, 2012
What do media mogul Oprah Winfrey, actress Mary-Louise Parker, and Olympic runner Carl Lewis have in common? Aside from their more than 15 minutes of fame, all three have been diagnosed with hypothyroidism, a condition where the body does not make enough thyroid hormone. This, in turn, can lead to fatigue, [...]
March 26, 2012
It’s that time of year again. That’s right... it’s March Madness and time to follow your favorite U.S. college basketball teams during playoffs. Some of you may be baffled by how much mental energy, time, and money Americans invest in sporting events, but those who participate will expound on the [...]
