One percent of people with three grandparents from Orkney, Scotland, carry a specific mutation of the BRCA1 gene that is known to increase the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer (see BioNews 1183).
Identifying the specific gene variant was the result of 25 years of research by Professor Zosia Miedzybrodzka, from Aberdeen University.
In a pilot programme, all adults living on the Orkney island of Westray, who have a grandparent from the island, are being invited to take a test for the gene variant.
BBC News has the full story.
Related Articles
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
BRCA2 variant found in people of Shetland heritage
One in 40 people who have four grandparents from the Isle of Whalsay in Shetland, Scotland, carry a gene variant known to increase their risk of developing cancer...
