The goal is to find genes that lead to any of 25 diseases that deCODE is interested in tracking. The technique is to compare samples and find patterns among families. The more comparisons, the more reliable the results. They attempt to identify each one's unique sequence of base pairs, chemicals that confer what is known as individuality. Then the fun begins.
Scientists believe many diseases begin with genetic mistakes known as mutations.
Among people who have similar genetic backgrounds, DNA samples should be so similar that disease mutations will stick out like sore thumbs. Icelanders' genealogical tables trace family bloodlines back a thousand years. Those copious records from a largely isolated population are, in theory, what make Iceland attractive for genetic research. However, Einar Arnason, a population geneticist at the University of Iceland, questions Stefansson's assertions that Icelanders are uniquely homogeneous. Arnason, joined by other University of Iceland geneticists, published an article in the August issue of Nature Genetics arguing that Icelanders are no less diverse than many other populations in Europe.