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In recent decades much hope was based on the development of personalised drug treatments, in which genetic tests determine the choice and optimal dose of medication for each individual patient. However, the real breakthrough is still to be seen, and now researchers at Karolinska Institutet show in two separate scientific papers that many more gene variants affect how a person responds to medication than previously thought – and thus that today’s analytical tools are too coarse.

Studies conducted at Karolinska Institutet and Uppsala University show that some indigenous groups in the Andes of northern Argentina have increased resistance to arsenic. The researchers also identified the gene that underlies the altered metabolism and protects against exposure to arsenic. This study is the first to show that some humans have genetically adapted to a polluted environment.

An international research team led from Karolinska Institutet have identified two genes that may be linked to an increased disposition to engage in repeated acts of violence. The findings are being published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry, and are based on genetic analysis of people convicted of various crimes.

A number of relatively common gene variations combined may increase the risk of autism. These are the findings of a new study from Swedish and American researchers published in Nature Genetics.