Iceland Genome Map Promises Disease-Free Future

A massive genetic sequencing exercise in Iceland has provided several clues related to diseases and human descent.

The one of its kind study saw scientists sequence genomes of 2,636 Icelandic people and compare it with readily available family-specific genetic information to determine changes. These changes were then correlated with health databases that tracked diseases that run in families. The exercise helped researchers notice about 20 million genetic variations in Icelandic people, LA Times reports, many of which were found have a bearing on diseases including breast cancer and liver disease.

According to BBC, researchers said the data can help them determine members of the population vulnerable to disease including breast cancer due to a mutated BRCA 1 gene.

"By using these tricks we can predict, with substantial accuracy, the genome of the entire nation," Dr Kari Stefansson, CEO of deCODE, which party funded the research, reportedly said.

The study also found that the most recent male ancestor of modern humans lived about 239,000 years ago, questioning earlier findings of a timeline of 340,000 years, The Verge reports. Researchers were surprised by findings which showed that many genes that were missing or knocked out were not as dangerous as they were once thought to be.

The study was published in a series of reports in the journal Nature Genetics.