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.
Customers might want to consider what they might learn about their risk of diseases like Alzheimer's before snagging the genetic testing kits that are on many gift guides this year, NJ.com writes.
Stat News reports that the pause on procuring fetal tissue for intramural US National Institutes of Health research will soon affect additional labs there.
