Carrying a variant form of a gene might add to a person’s risk of developing a devastating lung disease called pulmonary fibrosis. The variant induces the body to overproduce mucus in the lungs, researchers report in the April 21 New England Journal of Medicine.
Pulmonary fibrosis, a scarring of the lungs, is a rare but lethal condition that currently affects about 100,000 people in the United States.
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