News

Glenn gets closer to her genome

March 12, 2010 Edition 1

CHICAGO: Archbishop Desmond Tutu has done it. So has genome pioneer Craig Venter. And now American film actress Glenn Close has joined a handful of celebrities to have their genome sequenced.

"For me, anything that can move the science forward is worthwhile," Close said. "It's pretty well publicised that I have mental health issues in my family."

Close, whose family illnesses include bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, is a founder of the non-profit group BringChange2Mind, which raises awareness about mental illness.

New sequencing technologies have vastly reduced the cost of producing an entire map of the human genome - the genetic recipe that makes up an individual.

Scientists hope having the entire genetic map of a person's DNA will begin to reveal the genetic causes of common diseases or determine a person's risk for genetic disease.

Close said she would meet a genetics counsellor next month to get the results. - Reuters

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