Genetic background influences disease risk from single-gene variants

(Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard) Life can change dramatically when someone learns they are genetically predisposed to a disease. But these kinds of predictions are complicated: not everyone carrying such high-risk single-gene variants develops the condition. Researchers have now identified how a person's genetic background, in addition to any high-risk variants they carry, influences the risk of disease for three different conditions. The findings, published in Nature Communications, suggest...