Genetics of first-cousin marriage families show how some are protected from heart disease

More than 1,800 individuals carrying loss-of-function mutations in both copies of their genes, so-called 'human knockouts,' are described in the first major study to be published by an international collaboration. The program, which has so far sequenced the protein-coding regions of over 10,500 adults living in Pakistan, is illuminating the basic biology and possible therapeutics for several different disorders.