Researchers from the Universities of Nottingham and Leicester
are leading the largest ever study of the genetics relating to
lung disease. The project will investigate what determines an
individual's lung health and why smoking harms the lungs of some
people more than others and will use health information held by
UK Biobank, a major national resource holding health information
from half a million volunteers. The study, funded by the Medical
Research Council (MRC) and also involving scientists at St
George's, University of London, is aiming to shed light on why
some people are genetically more prone to suffer from lung
disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
(COPD). COPD includes conditions such as chronic bronchitis and
emphysema and is the sixth most common cause of death in the UK
(around 30,000 deaths per year). It affects approximately
900,000 people in the UK and costs the NHS £150m every year. At
present, avoiding taking up smoking or, for those who already
smoke, stopping smoking r