It took a novel tack to discover an obesity gene

The racing sailboat was small, and Christoph Lange wanted to be sure he didn't capsize and plunge into the Charles River again, as he'd done half a dozen times that spring. Using his blue sailing shoes for leverage, he carefully arranged himself on the craft's cramped bench and reached for the tiller. The day was mild; the wind barely ruffled the dank water lapping the edges of the ramp that led to the Harvard Sailing Center, in Cambridge, where Lange, assistant professor of biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health, had been a member since 2000.

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