Study challenges prevailing view that common diseases are usually caused by common mutations

In findings that may speed the search for disease-causing genes, a new study challenges the prevailing view that common diseases are usually caused by common gene variants (mutations). Instead, say genetics researchers, the culprits may be numerous rare variants, located in DNA sequences farther away from the original "hot spots" than scientists have been accustomed to look. The study team successfully tested their approach using real sequencing data from patients with hearing loss.

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