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Immune system's oldest branches may underpin COVID severity

One of the immune system's oldest branches, called complement, may be influencing the severity of COVID disease, according to a new study from researchers at Columbia University Irving Medical Center.

3 Aug 2020

Novel genetic measure could improve osteoporosis screening

An international team of scientists has developed a novel genetic measure that could dramatically improve how doctors assess the risk of sustaining a fracture due to osteoporosis or fragility.

21 Jul 2020

$Genetic markers can improve screening for osteoporotic fracture risk$

Genetic markers can improve screening for osteoporotic fracture risk

A new study shows that genetic pre-screening could reduce the number of screening tests needed to identify individuals at risk for osteoporotic fractures. Douglas P. Kiel, M.D., M.P.H., director of the Musculoskeletal Research Center in the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research at Hebrew SeniorLife, is an author on the report published this month in PLOS (Public Library of Science) Medicine.

20 Jul 2020

Repurposing public health systems can provide near-to-real-time data on SARS-CoV-2

Existing public health monitoring systems in the UK, could improve understanding of the risk factors associated with severe COVID-19.

7 Jul 2020

Obesity and BME status may place individuals at high-risk of contracting COVID-19

Obese people among black and minority ethnic communities (BME) are at around two times higher the risk of contracting COVID-19 than white Europeans, a study conducted by a team of Leicester researchers has found.

6 Jul 2020

PrecisionLife scientists identify 68 genes linked to severe COVID-19 risk

PrecisionLife’s unique AI platform has found 68 genes associated with risk of developing severe COVID-19 after analysis of the genomes of 929 patients from the UK Biobank who had a severe response to SARS-CoV-2.

26 Jun 2020

Study identifies world's first genetic and environmental risk factor for common childhood epilepsy

A new study of childhood epilepsy has identified the world's first environmental risk factor for the disease - maternal smoking in pregnancy, and discovered a new genetic association with the condition, pointing to potential new treatments for the disease.

24 Jun 2020

U.K. to roll out the largest genetic study on chronic fatigue syndrome

Fatigue is the feeling of constant tiredness or weakness, which can affect anyone. In worse cases, people develop a condition called myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). This condition is debilitating and lacks a universally accepted definition, cause, diagnosis, and even treatment.

24 Jun 2020

Study identifies new gene variants tied to type-2 diabetes

After examining the genes of more than 200,000 people all over the world who have type-2 diabetes, researchers from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and the Veterans Health Administration's Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Veterans Affairs Medical Center found hundreds of genetic variants never before linked to the disease.

23 Jun 2020

The underlying cause of ethnic differences in COVID-19 remains unexplained

Higher rates of severe COVID-19 infections in Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) populations are not explained by socioeconomic or behavioral factors, cardiovascular disease risk, or by vitamin D status, according to new research led by Queen Mary University of London.

21 Jun 2020

Genetic studies analyze genome-wide set of genetic variants in different individuals

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) analyze a genome-wide set of genetic variants in different individuals to see if any are associated with a trait or disease.

8 Jun 2020

New risk genes for problematic alcohol use discovered

Do you have what is known as problematic alcohol use? Then statistically you will also be particularly genetically predisposed to develop e.g. depression and insomnia. And to become dependent on drugs and tobacco. This is shown by a new international study in which researchers from iPSYCH are involved.

4 Jun 2020

Neanderthal gene in women boosts infertility

It is still unclear why some women go into labor for long periods, and some face a high risk of childbirth. Also, some women fall pregnant quickly, while others may take years before they conceive. The answer may be due to a gene inherited from the Neanderthals, an extinct species or subspecies of archaic humans who lived in Eurasia until about 40,000 years ago.

31 May 2020

UK’s ethnic minority groups face higher risk of COVID-19

Previous pandemics have often disproportionately impacted ethnic minorities and socioeconomically disadvantaged populations

30 May 2020

Scientists from gnomAD Consortium release first set of discoveries on human genetic variation

For the last eight years, the Genome Aggregation Database Consortium (and its predecessor, the Exome Aggregation Consortium, or ExAC), has been working with geneticists around the world to compile and study more than 125,000 exomes and 15,000 whole genomes from populations around the world.

28 May 2020

Faulty ApoE4 gene increases risk for Alzheimer’s and for COVID-19

It has not been clear whether dementia worsens the infection or if it has resulted from the patient's old age and the severity of care home outbreaks. Now, a new study sheds light on the reason why people with dementia are at a high risk of developing severe disease caused by the coronavirus disease.

27 May 2020

Genes associated with dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19

Having a faulty gene linked to dementia doubles the risk of developing severe COVID-19, according to a large-scale study.

26 May 2020

Occupational risk for COVID-19

Now, a new study published on the preprint server medRxiv in May 2020 examines the risk of COVID-19 disease in various occupations, showing that as expected, health workers and those in social care occupation are at the highest risk. This should help guide policies to protect and support these occupations during this trying period.

25 May 2020

Study finds hundreds of new links between people's DNA and the heart's electrical activity

Hundreds of new links have been found between people's DNA and the heart's electrical activity, according to a study of almost 300,000 people led by researchers at Queen Mary University of London and the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard.

21 May 2020

Excess coffee consumption can cause poor health

Cappuccino, latte or short black, coffee is one of the most commonly consumed drinks in the world. But whether it's good or bad for your health can be clarified by genetics, as a world-first study from the University of South Australia's Australian Centre for Precision Health shows that excess coffee consumption can cause poor health.

13 May 2020