In the search for the genetic basis of type 2 diabetes, a group of researchers have made a point to sample as wide a base of ethnic variation as possible, in the hopes of pinning down universal genetic risk factors for type 2 diabetes. They presented their study design and initial findings at the American Society of Human Genetics 2012 meeting earlier this week.
Analysis of all the data gathered, which began in 2011, will not be complete until the end of 2012, at which point the researchers hope to have catalog of variation, including alleles that are common in the population as well as those that are observed in only a small number of individuals, which will enable them to tease out whether the identified risk factors for type 2 diabetes are specific to one ancestry group or apply across multiple (or all) human populations.
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View the original article here: Novel type 2 diabetes genetic study involves five major ancestry groups, researchers report at American Society of Human Genetics 2012 meeting
