They carried out the first genome-wide analysis of the genetic variation between different regions of the same tumour using samples of kidney cancer.

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This genetic variation was found in the part of the genome that is responsible for the immune system.

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It is also involved in the International HapMap Project, a five-country initiative launched in October, to follow up the Human Genome Project with a large-scale study of human genetic variation and its relation to disease.

ECONOMIST: Chinese biotechnology