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The Ó³»­´«Ã½ of MIT and Harvard announced today an award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) for more than $18M to support genomic studies aimed at unveiling the genetic variations that underlie common human diseases. These funds will help to build a common data resource for the entire biomedical community that systematically combines genetic analyses of heart, lung, blood, and sleep disorders with detailed information about disease characteristics in a range of patient groups.

While you probably know "by heart" the rhythms of a favorite song, you might seldom hear, much less memorize, your heart's own endless cadence. In sudden cardiac death — when the heart basically stops, often with little or no obvious warning — the dynamics of the heartbeat can be an important, though seemingly subtle, forewarning that things are amiss. By seeking out the genes that help control the pace of the heartbeat, scientists may now have new insights that could help to explain this insidious condition.