I have a friend named Marisa who is very interested in medical genetics but isn’t a scientist. She told me the other day that she really wanted to get into research and discover something she could name. I can’t get her through a PhD but I can put her name on a principle I think may be important. I can’t swear that others haven’t seen or written on this before, but I haven’t seen it out there. I’ve found it in our results and it may be a general principle. If it is, let’s call it the Marisa Principle.
Here it is. If there is a SNP (A) for a trait (Z) and another SNP (B) not in LD with A and A defines more of the variance of Z when B is not present than when B is, then B is protective against Z.
That’s it, the Marisa Principle. If someone else has already discovered this, just let me know, and Marisa will have to find something else to put her name on.
© Howard C Wetsman MD FASAM