New study of genes and heart disease

The British Heart Foundation (BHF) is launching a new study to try and identify genes involved in familial heart disease. Researchers at Leeds and Leicester University hope to recruit 2000 families in which at least two siblings have been affected by early coronary heart disease. They will then analyse DNA samples in order to pinpoint altered genes associated with the condition. 'People with at least one close family member with early coronary heart disease are four times more likely to develop similar problems' said Professor Alastair Hall, joint leader of the study.

Meanwhile, the US head of the Human Genome Project has predicted that several genetic tests for common conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes, some cancers and schizophrenia will be perfected by 2010. Speaking at a NIH (National Institutes of Health) conference on the social and ethical issues in genetics last week, Dr Francis Collins said he thought mental illness would be one of the major beneficiaries of genetics research. But Collins also cautioned that the huge reliance on genetic technology in future healthcare could reactivate 'major anti-technology movements and anti-technology fervour'.

Dr Collins also alluded to a 'number of big surprises' in human genome research, due to appear shortly in scientific journals. One apparently describes evidence for a function for so-called 'junk' human DNA, previously thought to be inactive. Another puts the total number of human genes at between 30,000-35,000, much lower than previous estimates of 50,000-100,000.