by jeeg
15. June 2010 21:35
THE mystery of why Ozzy Osbourne is still alive after decades of drug and alcohol abuse may finally be solved.
The 61-year-old former Black Sabbath lead singer — who this week begins his health advice column in The Sunday Times Magazine — is to become one of only a few people in the world to have his full genome sequenced.
In addition to giving Osbourne information that could help prevent diseases, it is hoped the results will provide insights into the way drugs are absorbed into the body.
The first full genome was sequenced in 2003 after 13 years of work. Today, analysing a genome takes three months and costs about £27,000.
Before he reformed, Osbourne survived decades of substance abuse and bit the head off a bat while intoxicated on stage — he had to have rabies jabs afterwards. He has a genetic disorder similar to Parkinson’s disease, has been committed to a mental institution and broke his neck in a quad bike accident after which he was placed in a chemically induced coma.
“Sequencing and analysing individuals with extreme medical histories provides the greatest potential scientific value,” said Nathan Pearson, director of research at Knome, a Massachusetts company that will map the singer’s genome using a blood sample.
Osbourne’s advice in his medical column starts with suggestions to a mother for putting her young son off cigarettes, including: “Throw some fag ash on his cornflakes.”
