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Overlooked part of human cells could be genetic key to common diseases Long thought a vestigial part of human cells, new genetic analysis of the primary cilium shows that it may be tied to common conditions like diabetes and kidney failure.
Until recently, scientists believed that the primary cilium an antenna-like structure found on the surface of most human cells was largely vestigial and had little bearing on the day-to-day lives of human beings. But more recently, a relatively small number of people have been found to have rare genetic disorders affecting the cilium, characterized by a number of health problems, including common conditions like diabetes, kidney failure, and liver fibrosis. Now, an analysis of genes involved in the function of the cilium found that the same genes causing its rare diseases might also be behind the appearance of diabetes, kidney failure and liver fibrosis among the general public, too pointing to a potential way to treat
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Until recently, scientists believed that the primary cilium - an antenna-like structure found on the surface of most human cells - was largely vestigial and had little bearing on the day-to-day lives of human beings. But more recently, a relatively small number of people have been found to have rare genetic disorders affecting the cilium, characterized by a number of health problems, including common conditions like diabetes, kidney failure, and liver fibrosis. Now, an analysis of genes involved in the function of the cilium found that the same genes causing its rare diseases might also be behind the appearance of diabetes, kidney failure and liver fibrosis among the general public, too - pointing to a potential way to treat or even cure them. These findings were published today in the