The results of the study, which involved more than 47,000 MS patients and 68,000 unaffected controls, explain almost half of the disease's estimated heritability.
Using brain samples from individuals with or without multiple sclerosis, researchers detected declining projection neuron levels and related immune cell shifts.
The researchers plan to analyze clinical records and genetic data from whole-exome sequencing for more than 3,000 patients using DNAnexus' Apollo platform.
In PLOS this week: map of breakpoints in individuals with complex chromosomal rearrangements, sequence of virus that infects African armyworm, and more.
In a meta-analysis of nearly 70,000 individuals, researchers estimated that low-frequency coding variants contribute about 5 percent of multiple sclerosis risk.
A team led by the University of British Columbia homed in on a variant that linked to increased liver enzyme levels and liver injury during interferon-β treatment.
The Washington Post reports that a US Senate committee voted this week to approve the nomination of Stephen Hahn to lead the Food and Drug Administration.
In Nature this week: resources for single-cell analysis, little overlap in the microRNAs used by Salmonella and Shigella to infect host cells, and more.
