Genetics is behind the rise of auto immune diseases around the world. One person might develop an auto immune disease, whereas some one else won't. So how are you investigating the genetics behind all this? My work really tries to build on the huge success that we've had over the last ten years in finding the regions in our d and a that are directly involved in the development of these diseases. It's a bit like having a treasure map. We don't know what the treasure is.
Could the food we eat and the air we breathe be damaging our immune systems? The number of people with autoimmune diseases, from rheumatoid arthritis to type 1 diabetes, began to increase around 40 years ago in the west. Now, some are also emerging in countries that had never seen the diseases before. Ian Sample speaks to genetic scientist and consultant gastroenterologist James Lee about how this points to what western lifestyles might be doing to our health, and how genetics could reveal exactly how our immune systems are malfunctioning. Help support our independent journalism at
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