Researchers have discovered 275 million new genetic variants from data shared by 250,000 participants of All of us Research Programme of NIH. This vast unexplored data will help better understand influence of genetics on health and disease.
Researchers have identified over 275 million new genetic variants from data shared by about 250,000 participants of All of us Research Programme of National Institute of Health (NIH) of the USA. These variants were previously unreported and unexplored. Of the 275 million newly identified variants, nearly 4 million are in areas that may be associated with the disease risks.
Interestingly, nearly half of the genomic data are from participants with non-European genetic background. This addresses a major diversity related limitation of other large genomic studies which had over 90% participants with European genetic ancestry.
The new genomic data is made available to the registered researchers in the Researcher Workbench. Many researchers are utilising the dataset.
Study of these hitherto unexplored genetic variants should contribute to understanding influences of genetics on health and disease especially in under-studied communities with non-European ancestry.
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Source:
NIH. News releases- 275 million new genetic variants identified in NIH precision medicine data. Posted 19 February 2024.Availalble at https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/275-million-new-genetic-variants-identified-nih-precision-medicine-data
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