A Burmese scientist has helped discover a new gene in humans that contributes to the production of hemoglobin.
Dr. Barry Paw - a member of a research team at a U.S. medical school - says the team found how the gene mitoferrin transports iron to red blood cells to form hemoglobin. Hemoglobin carries oxygen from the lungs to the rest of the body, including the muscles.
Dr. Paw says researchers now hope to reveal changes in the gene that cause human diseases, including iron deficiency or an excessive amount of iron.
The researchers are from the Harvard Medical School's Brigham and Women's Hospital in the northeastern U.S. state of Massachusetts. Their findings were published in the journal, "Nature."
