Genes linked to diseases
Scientists have discovered that single genes can be linked to multiple diseases such as cancer and heart conditions.
The research suggests that one in five genes is linked to more than one disease.
The study by the University of Edinburgh found that genes responsible for Crohn's disease are linked with other conditions including breast and prostate cancer, Hodgkin's lymphoma, high cholesterol and obesity.
The researchers found that people who carry particular genes - including some responsible for heart disease, Parkinson's disease and some cancers - could be at risk of developing other health problems.
Knowing how diseases are genetically connected could aid efforts to develop medicines and could help predict and avoid potential side-effects.
Dr Evropi Theodoratou, of the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Population Health Sciences, said: "Showing that genes are linked to more than one disease is very important. We have shown that this is a common finding and not just an exception.
"Anyone who goes for genetic testing should be aware that in future any information they receive about individual genes could have wider implications than they or the clinician immediately realise.
"They could also influence the risk of other conditions, so being aware of these wider effects is important."
The scientists also report new genetic links between those genes associated with certain fats that may lower cholesterol and the risk of gallstones.
And the study supports earlier research that identified a link between fetal haemoglobin and risk of malaria.
Weird Science Factoid: Gorillas can catch human colds and other illnesses.
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Daniel Smith - a long time ago, in a galaxy far away just north of Watford, Daniel fancied himself as a scientist but turned out to be the worst scientist since that bloke who mapped out all those canals on Mars that turned out to be scratches on his telescope's lens. Luckily, he is now not working on the Large Hadron Collider inadvertently creating a black hole that would swallow the world but is safely behind a desk writing this blog, bringing you the fantastical underbelly of nature... weird science.
