HEAVY MENDEL: Scientists have thousands of interesting new mutations uncovered in Ozzy Osbourne's genome to puzzle over.
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The one-time front man for heavy metal band Black Sabbath has joined the likes of DNA co-discoverer James Watson and Harvard University professor Henry Louis Gates on the short roster of people to have their full genome sequenced and analyzed.
Ozzy Osbourne let a little blood to submit to the testing in July. Cofactor Genomics, a Saint Louis–based company, sequenced Osbourne's genome; Knome, Inc., which also helped raise money for the project, analyzed the data.
For his part, Osbourne was at first skeptical about the project, he explained in his October 24 Sunday Times of London column. But the platinum-record artist then began to wonder if he, in fact, might have something to offer science.
"I was curious," he wrote in his column. "Given the swimming pools of booze I've guzzled over the years—not to mention all of the cocaine, morphine, sleeping pills, cough syrup, LSD, Rohypnol…you name it—there's really no plausible medical reason why I should still be alive. Maybe my DNA could say why."
But what can a bunch of genetic code tell us about someone's propensity to become the ordained "Godfather of Heavy Metal" or to bite the head off a live bat on stage?
Scientific American spoke with Jorge Conde, co-founder and chief executive of Cambridge, Mass.–based Knome, and Nathan Pearson, the company's director of research, who had sat down with Ozzy earlier to go over the results of the analysis.
Ozzy and his wife Sharon Osbourne will also relay some of the results—more "Down to Earth" than via "Ozzmosis"—Friday at the TEDMED 2010 meeting in San Diego.
[An edited transcript of the interview follows.]
Why did Ozzy want to have his genome sequenced?
Jorge Conde: The main question for Ozzy was: Is there any information in there that could explain Ozzy?
I think he was curious about how he had managed to survive a pretty hard life in a lot of ways. So there were some questions around that—how substance use had affected him and how he metabolized things. He was also interested in specific health questions—he was diagnosed with a Parkinson's-like condition. He was also very interested in what we could tell him about his ancestry.
Nathan Pearson: He was really curious to know about his Parkinson's-like symptoms, so we looked pretty closely in his genome for that kind of stuff. We found a few hints, but we couldn't tell him why he has symptoms like a tremor. And frankly, his history of drug abuse probably contributed to that, too.
He asked us good questions about dopamine. Many of the variants in his genome are about how the brain processes dopamine.
Is Ozzy the first rock star to have his full genome sequenced?
Conde: Yes, as far as I know. I can definitely tell you he's the first prince of darkness to have his genome sequenced and analyzed.
Can we see in his genome any traces of his legendary rock-and-roll lifestyle—or evidence of his body's efforts to repair any damage?
Conde: We cannot find the "Ozzy Osbourne" gene. But what we did see, as one of our scientists refers to it, is a lot of interesting smoke—but not any specific fire. We found many variants—novel variants—in genes associated with addiction and metabolism that are interesting but not quite definitive.
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24 Comments
Add CommentDear Ms. Harmon,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHonestly, Ozzy's extraordinary career is due to his musical genius and his astonishingly original showmanship. What has that to do with a infinitesimal, probably non-encoding, raft of detritis in the ocean of his DNA?
Didn't you consider that what you, and the headline, are implying is simply absurd? Come on, this is supposed to be S.A.
With all due respect,
Steve
All famous people have Neandertal lineage. They also run the media and own all the banks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe're better than you. And we never left. We've always been here and we always will be.
Hmm. This needs a LOT more data.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisBut behavior does not equal genetics. To get a control, go into the family history of alcohol and drug use, not just one guy.
This would make a very good article for The Rolling Stone, not so much Scientific America.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI volunteer my family! Seriously... send me some kits, it will be the best thing many of them will ever do for humanity.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSteveinOG,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI see no implication that Ozzy's musical talent is somehow related to his Neanderthal lineage. I see where you are coming from however in that it may give people the wrong impression about his lineage and what it means but those who may say "aha! Well that explains things.." may actually learn something such as "Pearson: For a long time we thought that Neandertals didn't have any descendents today, but it turns out that Asians and Europeans have some evidence of Neandertal lineage—like a drop in the bucket." and that Knome's founder has 3 times as much.
What about people who do not have any Neanderthal DNA in them and why don't they any Neanderthal DNA in them? Since it is claimed that we ALL came from the southern tip of Africa, have you done any testing for Neanderthal DNA in the people there, and have you tested any people in the Outback of Australia? If there are more people in Africa and Australia with Neanderthal DNA in them, then where did the people with no Neanderthal DNA in them come from?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisboy, there's an unexpected revelation!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAre you suggesting Reincarnation??
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI am more and more interested in the linkage between Neanderthal and autism that many scientists are exploring. Another interesting linkage is Neanderthal and red haired people. My daughter is autistic and her grandmother and great grandmother both had red hair. Neanderthal kids grew up fast, tended to be taller and stronger than modern humans. Alex is already taller than her classmates, has size 7 shoes at age 9. She has a natural homing pigeon instinct, never gets lost, remembers a place after being there once and is great with her hands. Neanderthals were tool makers and artists. Look at the Neanderthal cave paintings. Exquisite skill.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou look at Ozzy Osborne and his musical skills and hmmm. You do wonder, eh?
Oh great - another reader who does not read.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisALL things 'scientific' are for Scientific American, JT. You should know this by now.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'll never understand many of the posts here.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisFirst: SciAm REPORTS on science. They don't DO science.
Second: Science is applicable to EVERYTHING. This includes rock stars.
And third: You must read the articles with OPEN minds. Vomiting up your preconceived notions is ALWAYS counterproductive.
That is really about the silliest article I have seen yet in S.A. After all, Ozbourne is English, he would need to be either part Asian or part African to possess any Neaderthal DNA.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAgreed, Sci Am reports on science news and does not conduct the original research. Readers really need to, you know, actually read the articles before commenting on them or reaching conclusions and it also helps to have a basic understanding of the issues discussed in the stories before spouting off. For example, why look for Neanderthal DNA in the first hominids from southern Africa? Neanderthals came from the Neander Valley of Germany (so yes, Ozzie would have Neanderthal DNA if he has European ancestry) long after early man migrated out of Africa. They probably intermingled with other hominids roughly 65,000 years ago in the Near or Middle East.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWe really should sequence Keith Richards. "Somewhere in Keith is the cure for every disease," I once heard!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI'm not sure of your age, Sirius, but unfortuneately you are misinformed about the origins of Neaderthals amongst the present German population. There is no REAL relation between Europeans and Africans/Neaderthals.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiscool article...as an ozzy fan I think its excellent that he would pay to have his dna sequenced...the more the better...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat part of genes... make us who we are is so hard to understand? There's never any problem when it comes to breading and Pets! Race horses, and so forth. Wake up...it's the truth.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA drop of Neanderthal in folks who might have met them! How jolly. Apparently the Neanderthal developed and throve north of the equator. They were very strong, not very tall, and sometimes had red hair. The Monkey in the Mirror man, Tattersal, suggested that homosapiens ruthlessly destroyed our sturdy cousins. I am thrilled to think that we kissed and it tells! I've read that a few painted shells, a possible stone flute and some flowers in a grave are the scant hints of Neanderthal inner life. Cave paintings are attributed to big brained Cro Magnon, also our cousins. There are those in my family who are short-legged, long bodied, stronger than some, prone to eat Atkins-wise, who gain rather short but permanent adult height and maturation at twelve. I've always hoped there was a bit of Neanderthal there, not just my rugged working class German/Irish origin. Dear me, even autism-we do have a few grumpy males with a form of Asbergers. Well, that explains it all.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHey, blond hair and blue eyes are recessive as are red hair and green eyes. These traits did not come from Africa but were in the Neanderthal gene pool when the modern humans migrated up from the Middle East as the second or third wave out of Africa. It took millions of years to mutate these northern European skin and hair genes. It is clear that the modern humans and Neanderthals inter-bred. The blue eyes, while recessive, must have been attractive enough to continue as dominant in the gene pool long after the last Neanderthal went extinct in northern Europe.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow, with inter-breeding among all humans, these genes may go extinct as brown eyed, dark hair out breed them and erase the last traces of the Neanderthals.
Not knowing what the gene he shares with Neanderthals is useless. He also shares genes with protozoa as do we all. A large portion of our genome consists of generic eukaryotic genes.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs there a gene for stupidity? Many of the posts here take a tiny hint of a possibility and spin these grand delusions in great detail. From the obvious racism of rennie insisting that Africans must be more primitive, even though Neanderthals originated in Germany, to the supposed artistic skills of Neanderthals, until there is factual evidence it is all a delusion telling much more about the mental illness of the poster than the reality of the Neanderthal people.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAs the article states repeatedly, we are at the very beginning of learning about the human genome. Instead of promoting our political agendas based on delusion, how about we wait for actual useful information?
i thank ozzy will live for aleast 8 more years i have read his book he has did a lot of things but he is still livin
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