Archbishop Desmond Tutu has become the latest prominent figure to have his full genome deciphered, scientists revealed today.

The South African clergyman and human rights campaigner agreed to the procedure as part of a study into the breadth of human genetic diversity and the role an individual's genetic makeup plays in their health.

The Anglican archbishop's genetic sequence and those of four southern African bushmen have been added to a freely available public database where medical researchers can study them.

The African continent is widely regarded as the cradle of humanity, where human genetic diversity is at its greatest, but scientists have overwhelmingly focused their genetic research on western and Asian cultures.

As a result, research into drugs and diseases almost completely ignores the genetic variation of the African population, meaning drugs are often less effective there than elsewhere in the world and gene variants that make people more susceptible to certain diseases are missed.

The latest research is intended to give pharmaceutical companies the information needed to identify genes that increase the risk of disease and to develop more effective drugs, such as antiviral treatments for HIV in Africa.

Source: Ian Sample, The Melbourne Anglican

Read the full story: The Guardian (UK)