variant

"How many people carry variants in this gene and is there a susceptibility to deafness or age-dependent hearing loss?" she said.

Some individuals are born with genetic variants that affect the same proteins targeted by cholesterol-lowering medications such as statins and ezetimibe.

But that was "never going to be a runner" because of the new alpha variant which arrived at the same time and accelerated the spread of the disease, he said.

With its precision and ability to process large numbers of cells, the tool marks a major step toward linking specific genetic variants with disease outcomes.

Broad researchers said they demonstrated the feasibility of same-day reports of clinically relevant gene variants to those caring for newborns in intensive care.