LONDON : British researchers will study the genes of thousands of ill covid-19 patients to try to crack one of the most puzzling riddles of the novel coronavirus: why does it kill some people but give others not even a mild headache?
Researchers from across the United Kingdom will sequence the genetic code of people who fell critically ill with covid-19 and compare their genomes with those who were mildly ill or not ill at all.
The hunt for the specific genes that could cause a predisposition to getting ill with covid-19 will involve up to 20,000 people currently or previously in hospital intensive care with covid-19 and about 15,000 people with mild symptoms.