Education and Science, Estonia, EU – Baltic States, Technology

Estonian scientists together with the colleagues of the Swiss Nestlé Health Science Institute will start studying the gene samples of nearly 6,000 Estonians, to find out the genetic options that are connected to fast metabolism or which help prevent weight gains in some other way. The study that will soon start is even more exciting because so far, the connection between weight and genes have been ascertained mainly by analysing overweight people, now it is done the other way round. The scientists will not be looking for one specific gene but gene combinations, meaning that there is no hope of finding a so-called "slim gene".

"The final aim is to develop different approaches towards treatment of obesity," said Nestle Health Science Institute head Dr Emmanuel Baetge.

"Thus this commonly interesting topic is important not just for Estonia and Switzerland but in a much wider scope," said Tartu University Genome Reserve director Andres Metspalu.

While the source material of the study is Genome Reserve samples, the research work takes place in Switzerland and with Swiss financing but Tartu University scientists also participate.