The DNA of 250,000 people illuminates the most hidden effect of poverty. A macro study, with thousands of poor volunteers and other traditionally ignored groups, reveals 275 million previously unknown genetic variants.

The initiative is part of the scientific project All of us, with the ultimate goal of reading the genomes of more than one million Americans. Nearly half of the genomes read so far are from “underrepresented racial and ethnic minorities” A quarter also comes from volunteers who live below the poverty line. And also one in four belongs to people over 65 years of age.