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MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE
by Michael Wolraich
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Coming February 6, 2024 . . . MURDER, POLITICS, AND THE END OF THE JAZZ AGE by Michael Wolraich Pre-order at Barnes & Noble / Amazon / Books-A-Million / Bookshop |
By Gina Kolata, New York Times, March 2/3, 2014
A new study based on genetic testing of 150,000 people has found a rare mutation that protects even fat people from getting Type 2 diabetes. The effect is so pronounced — the mutation reduces risk by two-thirds — that it provides a promising new target for developing a drug to mimic the mutation’s effect.
The mutation destroys a gene used by pancreas cells where insulin is made. Those with the mutation seem to make slightly more insulin and have slightly lower blood glucose levels for their entire lives.
Already Pfizer, which helped finance the study, and Amgen, which owns a company whose data played a key role in the research, are starting programs aimed at developing drugs that act like the mutation, the companies said.
But Timothy Rolph, a Pfizer vice president, cautioned it can take 10 to 20 years to get a drug to market after discovering something new about human genetics and disease.
The study, published Sunday in Nature Genetics, involved a mutation so rare that finding it was only recently possible, with vast data from large numbers of people, researchers said [....]
Comments
That is good news.
Pfizer Inc. PFE - Feb 28 4:00 PM ET 32.11-
Amgen, AMGN - Feb 28 3:59 PM ET 124.02
by Resistance on Sun, 03/02/2014 - 11:38pm
Here's the one-month view: Amgen is up about 4% and Pfizer is up about 6%. The detailed daily view from Friday is also interesting, if somewhat puzzling. (Note: I believe that link will change to being Monday at some point.)
by Verified Atheist on Mon, 03/03/2014 - 9:03am
Fascinating stuff. I'd guess that this gene would probably be harmful if we didn't live in an age of too much sugar.
by Verified Atheist on Mon, 03/03/2014 - 8:58am
At least according to the Times article, the non-diabetics with the mutation had lower glucose levels but does not indicate adverse effects. In fact, the research team is looking for adverse effects of the gene but have not found any yet.
by rmrd0000 on Mon, 03/03/2014 - 10:31am