Genes give clue to lung cancer risk in smokers
Scientists today publish the first genetic clues to unravelling the mystery of why some smokers puff their way through life without developing disease while others die young of lung cancer. Three research teams have independently discovered a set of genetic variations that increase the risk of lung cancer and may make smokers more addicted to nicotine. Their papers appear in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics. The gene affected seems to make a protein that acts as a "receptor", or docking point, for nicotine in the brain.