One changed letter in one gene: Mayo scientists find a hidden cause of fatty liver disease

Fatty liver disease — too much fat stored in liver cells — is usually blamed on diabetes, weight and metabolism. But some families develop it with none of those explanations. Scientists at Mayo Clinic and the Medical College of Wisconsin searched the protein-coding stretches of more than 20,000 genes and found a harmful change in a single letter of the instructions for a gene called MET, which can cause the disease on its own. Published in Hepatology, the finding does not explain most fatty liver cases — but for families whose illness never made sense, it offers something precious: a name, a test, and a starting point for more precise care.

SDG 3 · Good health and well-being — Mechanism: tech innovation