The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium has published new findings on the genetics behind common diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease Nature Genetics.

The £9 million study is one of the UK's largest and most successful academic collaborations to date. It has examined DNA samples from 17 000 people across the UK, bringing together 50 leading research groups and 200 scientists in the field of human genetics from dozens of UK institutions. Over two years, they have analysed almost 10 billion pieces of genetic information.

Among the most significant new findings are four chromosome regions containing genes that can predispose to type 1 diabetes and three new genes for Crohn's disease. For the first time, the researchers have found a gene linking these two autoimmune diseases, known as PTPN2.

More details from the Wellcome Trust press release.