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Scientists have discovered 19 new genetic markers that could predict whether a person is at a higher risk of eye disease. The genome-wide study of 25,000 people almost doubles the number of known genetic variants that affect how thick the cornea is and brings the total number of known variants to 45. The head of the Brisbane-based QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute's Statistical Genetics laboratory, Associate Professor Stuart MacGregor, said corneal thickness was associated with a debilitating condition called keratoconus, that that affected the front surface of the eye.