After a series of duplication and rearrangement events, the genes involved in two key pathways producing morphine, codeine, and noscapine have clustered in the genome.
The team said that by understanding why some members of this family don't feel pain, they could unearth new drug targets to treat others with chronic pain.
The one-year partnership will focus on identifying patients with abnormal pain conditions and validating the genetic findings as potential targets for drugs.
The firm has yet to publish peer-reviewed clinical evaluations, and genetics experts have raised doubts about its choice of targets to predict addiction.
In Nature this week: short tandem repeats contribute to gene expression variation in humans, mutation linked to cold-aggravated peripheral pain, and more.
The UK's Human Fertility and Embryology Authority calls for consumer genetic testing companies to warn customers that testing could uncover family secrets, according to the Guardian.
