Healthy genome used to predict disease risk in later life
For the first time, doctors have used the genetic profile of an apparently healthy middle-aged man to predict his risk of developing dozens of diseases in later life.
Dr Stephen Quake, a 40-year-old scientist at Stanford University in California, was found to be carrying a rare genetic mutation that can cause a sudden and fatal heart attack, and other genes that boosted his risk of becoming diabetic and obese to more than 50%.
Some genes revealed how Quake would respond to different medications, including a number of heart disease drugs to which he is at risk of reacting badly.