A vast store of DNA is being used to study why the severity of symptoms for coronavirus varies so much.
UK Biobank - which contains samples from 500,000 volunteers, as well as detailed information about their health - is now adding Covid-19 data.
It is hoped genetic differences could explain why some people with no underlying health conditions can develop severe illness.
More than 15,000 scientists from around the world have access to UK Biobank.
Prof Rory Collins, principal investigator of the project, said it would be “a goldmine for researchers”.
“We could go very quickly into getting some very, very important discoveries,” he said.
How do Covid-19 symptoms differ?
Some people with coronavirus have no symptoms - and scientists are trying to establish what proportion this is.
Others have a mild to moderate disease.
But about one in five people has a much more severe illness and an estimated 0.5-1% die.
How can UK Biobank help?
UK Biobank has blood, urine and saliva samples from 500,000 volunteers whose health has been tracked over the past decade
And it has already helped to answer questions about how diseases such as cancer, stroke and dementia develop.
Now, information about positive coronavirus tests, as well as hospital and GP data, will be added.
Prof Collins said: “We’re looking at the data in UK Biobank to understand the differences between those individuals.
“What are the differences in their genetics? Are there differences in the genes related to their immune response? Are there differences in their underlying health?
“So it is a uniquely rich set of data - and I think we will transform our understanding of the disease.”
Source: BBC
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