About two of every 100 babies worldwide are born with congenital heart disease, but the biological processes responsible for these conditions are not fully understood. This finding changes our understanding of how congenital heart defects arise. However, genetic alterations can disrupt this communication, causing ‘antenna defects,’ which may lead to congenital heart defects,” explains Søren Tvorup Christensen, Professor of cell biology at the Department of Biology. They began by examining genetic information from several thousand people with congenital heart defects to identify rare mutations. This may explain why some patients with congenital heart disease also have defects and related conditions affecting the brain, kidneys, and skeleton.