News in Brief Genetics Missing genes not always a problem for people Mutations that knock out the function of some proteins don’t lead to health problems By Tina Hesman Saey March 3, 2016 at 4:50 pm - More than 2 years ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X Click to print (Opens in new window) Print Many genes may be dispensable. Each of 3,222 British people with Pakistani heritage carries, on average, mutations in 140 genes that stop those genes from working, researchers report online March 3 in Science.