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Richard Lifton and his colleagues at Yale University school of medicine report in the journal Science that a mutation in the genes of mitochondria, the tiny powerpacks in almost every human cell, contributes to a wide range of life-shortening risk factors including high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other metabolic disorders.

One woman with hypertension and low blood magnesium levels told scientists of other members of her family with a similar condition. This immediately suggested that a genetic link passed only through the female line.

"That's when the real saga began," Dr Lifton said. "We eventually studied 142 relatives. When we looked at the pattern of these pathologies we found there was a whopping excess of affected individuals on the maternal lineage."


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