Learning from Iceland’s Model for Genetic Research

The Scandinavian island’s unique combination of genetic homogeneity, genealogical tradition, and high participation in research make it a prime location for discovery and validation of drug targets.

Written byCatherine Offord

| 8 min read

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A few years ago, Brian Durie and his colleagues at the International Myeloma Foundation (IMF) identified a problem. They knew that people who develop multiple myeloma previously had its benign precursor, a condition known as monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS). But they also knew that most doctors don’t routinely screen for this condition, in which plasma B cells harmlessly produce an abnormal peptide called M protein. As a result, most cases are never diagnosed unless patients develop multiple myeloma or related diseases. (Progression to malignancy is not inevitable, but some estimates put the risk as high as nearly 40 percent over a lifetime.)

“To have a chance to cure the disease, you really need to be able to intervene in patients who have early ...

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Meet the Author

Catherine Offord
After undergraduate research with spiders at the University of Oxford and graduate research with ants at Princeton University, Catherine left arthropods and academia to become a science journalist. She has worked in various guises at The Scientist since 2016. As Senior Editor, she wrote articles for the online and print publications, and edited the magazine’s Notebook, Careers, and Bio Business sections. She reports on subjects ranging from cellular and molecular biology to research misconduct and science policy. Find more of her work at her website.
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