Health
Sequencing someone’s DNA has so far mainly been seen as a diagnostic tool for babies and children, but it can also help adults
By Clare Wilson
Scientists genetically analysed stored blood samples collected during the Penn Medicine BioBank study
Daniel Burke Photography/Penn Medicine BioBank
Being in intensive care is bad enough, but it can be even worse if doctors don’t know the cause of your illness or how to treat you. DNA sequencing, however, could give a diagnosis for about 1 in 9 young adults being treated in intensive care, a US study suggests.
Most of the previously unsuspected genetic conditions discovered via this approach involved a weak heart or blood vessels, or a predisposition to cancer.
The findings come…
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