The Nation - News from Nov. 29, 1985

A project to study the genetics of cancer unexpectedly led to discovery of a genetic “flag” that has greatly advanced the search for the gene that causes cystic fibrosis, the nation’s most common fatal inherited disease, researchers say. That flag, or marker, is one of two found very close to the gene and reported in the British journal Nature. The findings “are a very significant step” toward identifying the cystic fibrosis gene, which in turn will help scientists find more effective therapies for the disease, said Robert Beall, executive vice president for medical affairs of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation in Rockville, Md.