Super-Genes to the Rescue?

Do superhumans actually exist? Apparently they do, and their DNA could hold the key to solving some of the world’s health problems.

Freakishly strong bones and an alarmingly high pain threshold aren’t the result of falling in a vat of toxic waste, they are caused by genetic mutations. Pharmaceutical companies have not only taken notice, but are investing heavily to produce treatments for a variety of disease indications that could have annual revenue in the billions.

If someone with brittle bones or severe pain can get relief in a pill or an injection, could there be a cure for Rett and other MECP2 disorder unknowingly hidden in someone’s DNA? Twenty years ago, when sequencing DNA took decades and billions of dollars, getting to the answer would have been technologically impossible. But today it’s more than feasible. RSRT is funding several projects in the lab of Monica Justice and Jeffrey Neul aimed at identifying mutations in other genes that make an MECP2 mutation less severe.

Bloomberg Business covered this amazing topic with some great illustrations from Stephanie Davidson.