We usually think of mutations as errors in our genes that will make us sick.
But not all errors are bad, and some can even cancel out, or suppress, the fallout of those mutations known to cause disease.
Little is known about this process–called genetic suppression–but that’s about to change as University of Toronto researchers begin to lay out the general rules behind it.
Researchers have compiled the first comprehensive set of suppressive mutations in a cell….
Their findings could help explain how suppressive mutations combine with disease-causing mutations to soften the blow of a disease, or even completely protect against it.
Related on the SLP
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[There are] a few, and extremely lucky folks, who dodge the bullet and remain healthy, displaying disease resilience, despite carrying catastrophic mutations that cause debilitating disorders, such as Cystic Fibrosis….According to the researchers, some of this could be due to environment, but a lot of could be due to the presence of other mutations that are suppressing the effects of the first mutation.
The GLP aggregated and excerpted this blog/article to reflect the diversity of news, opinion, and analysis. Read full, original post: Scientists find out why bad genes are not always bad to our health
