A gene
involved in managing the connections between brain cells appears to be
associated with an increased risk of developing schizophrenia.
While previous research had shown that schizophrenia has a genetic
component, this is the first time that a specific gene and biological
pathway has been identified as contributing to the disease.
'Since schizophrenia was first described over a century ago, its
underlying biology has been a black box, in part because it has been
virtually impossible to model the disorder in cells or animals,' said Dr Steven McCarroll of Harvard Medical School, senior author on the study, which was published in Nature.
http://www.bionews.org.uk/page_611310.asp