Huge US study starts sharing gene findings with volunteers

By LAURAN NEERGAARD
AP Medical Writer

Thousands of Americans who shared their DNA for science are about to learn if they have some particularly worrisome genes. It’s part of a massive National Institutes of Health project to unravel how people’s genetics, environments and habits interact to determine their overall health. It’s unusual for study volunteers to get information about their personal health. But not everyone with the same gene will have a bad outcome, and sharing the information could spur additional discoveries that help explain why. Researchers aim to track 1 million people from all walks of life for at least a decade.