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A study published yesterday in Science [Lemmers et al. (2010) Science 19 Aug doi:10.1126/science.1189044] has uncovered the mystery cause of a form of muscular dystrophy pointing the way towards possi

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) can arise through multiple different molecular mechanisms, and enormous progress has recently been made in understanding genetics factors that increase SCD risk in those

The prevalence of certain childhood diseases such as asthma, eczema and cancers has seen a worldwide increase in recent decades. However, the underlying cause of this increase is as yet unknown, and c

Newborn screening involves the testing of blood samples from newborn babies for various different rare genetic disorders. In some cases, early identification can allow interventions to prevent or amel

RNA interference (RNAi) is a naturally occurring gene silencing mechanism that prevents expression of transcribed genes via double-stranded RNA molecules. The discovery of this mechanism won a Nobel p

An important aspect in the prevention of cardiovascular disease involves risk prediction in order to identify individuals at high risk and tailor treatment strategies. Risk prediction is usually based

Identifying cancers early requires the early identification of cancer biomarkers such as elevated levels of tumour-specific proteins (antigens), such as analysis of prostate specific antigen (commonly

It has long been known that the length of telomeres – the repetitive sequences at the end of chromosomes that protect genomic DNA from degradation – is related to age: the older the cell,

Numerous biomarkers have been linked to the development of cardiovascular disease. However, given the observational nature of genetic epidemiological research, any given association between a risk fac

The Framingham Heart Study is a well-known health research project initiated in 1948 in the town of Framingham, Massachusetts, and supported by the US National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Th