Washington, Aug 18 - Researchers have successfully developed a novel genome-analysis strategy for more rapid, lower cost discovery of possible gene-disease links.

By saving time and lowering expenses, the approach makes it feasible for scientists to search for disease-causing genes in people with the same inherited disorder but without any family ties to each other.

The strategy also might be extended to common medical conditions with complex genetics by making it more cost-effective and efficient to study the genomes of large groups of people.

Such large-scale research hasn't been undertaken because it has been prohibitively expensive, cumbersome, and time-consuming to sequence, compare and interpret entire human genomes.

The study lead by Jay Shendure at the University of Washington (UW) was conducted as a proof-of-concept to see if a more targeted analysis and newer technology could identify candidate genes for genetic disorders.