Access

Published online 23 April 2008 | 452, 926-929 (2008) | doi:10.1038/452926a

News Feature

Biomedical science: Betting the bank

Lyle Palmer has plans for a 'ludicrously ambitious' gene - disease research project. Bijal Trivedi reports on the trials at Joondalup.

Every hour of Connie Colgan's day is carefully choreographed. Rising at 5:30 a.

Comments

Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email redesign@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.

  • It is not clear as to what will be the age group of the 80,000 subjects. Also, the story says that the measurements will be taken every three years. How many times is however not mentioned.

    • 26 Apr, 2008
    • Posted by: abhay sharma
  • During the startup phase (first 6 months of data collection) the age of the volunteers will range from 6-70 years old. Once the project is in full swing the study will be open to all ages--newborns and up. After an initial visit, study participants will be invited to the center after a three-year interval when another set of measurements will be taken.

    • 28 Apr, 2008
    • Posted by: Brendan Maher
  • Just to add to the last comment, as this is a long-range, prospective cohort, the every-three-years workups are intended to continue for the rest of the person's life, assuming funding favours the project. Note: This, and the previous post are on behalf of the author, Bijal Trivedi

    • 28 Apr, 2008
    • Posted by: Brendan Maher