According to Mica Schneider with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, the New England Journal of Medicine has shared results of research done by the Molecular and Human Genetic Center at the Louisiana State University Medical Center in New Orleans which indicates that a recessive gene, a mutation in the connexin 26 gene that can create a protein causing hearing loss if paired with another carrier, can be found in 4 percent of Ashkenazi Jews, equivalent to 1 in 1,000 Jews. “The frequency of deafness is no higher in the Jewish population than in others” says Dr. Bronya Keats, the Center’s director who was also coordinator of this research project, “It’s just that in the (Ashkenazi) Jewish population, many profound hearing impairments are due to a certain gene mutation…” Concern over such information being used by employers and health insurance companies to deny medical coverage, Hadassah addressed the National Institute of Health’s forum on genetics research twice. “We are working to ensure that potential research groups are not scared or harmed by the real and perceived risks of participation” says Hadassah national president Marlene Post. Importance is attached to such research due to the fact that sectors of the Orthodox community tend to intermarry and such genetic tests could potentially affect matchmaking.