Scientists Discover Second-Oldest Gene Mutation

Researchers with the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center led a study that identified a gene mutation estimated to date back to 11,600 B.C., which makes it the second oldest human disease mutation ever discovered. The researchers estimate that the mutation arose in the Middle East and describe it in people of Arabic, Turkish, and Jewish ancestry. While the mutation is found in markedly different ethnic populations, it originated in a single, prehistoric individual and was passed down to the individual's descendents. Such "founder mutations" are usually unique to isolated populations or specific ethnic groups, so this finding is very unusual. The mutation causes a rare, inherited vitamin B12 deficiency called Imerslund-Grasbeck Syndrome (IGS).

Link to the article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/12/111215135855.htm