Ozzy wants his DNA mapped ... to see why drugs haven't killed him yet

ST. LOUIS -- Alcohol and drug abuse has killed too many rock stars to mention, but at 61, Ozzy Osbourne is going strong. DNA researchers in St. Louis now say they are part of a team that will try to determine why decades of substance abuse hasn't taken down the Prince of Darkness.

The longtime Black Sabbath front man has asked Knome, a Cambridge, Mass., human genomics company to map his DNA, said Jon Armstrong, chief marketing officer for St. Louis-based Cofactor Genomics, which is partnering with Knome in the effort.

Armstrong said Wednesday the DNA mapping may not offer definitive answers about Osbourne's relative longevity, but could provide clues in understanding the relationship between changes in DNA and the environment.

"I can guarantee it will add more pieces to the puzzle," Armstrong said. "Very seldom is there one holy grail."

Calls seeking comment from Osbourne through the management company operated by his wife, Sharon, and through his agent, were not returned Wednesday. Knome officials also did not respond to an interview request, but director of research Nathan Pearson told The London Times for a story earlier this month that "sequencing and analyzing individuals with extreme medical histories provides the greatest potential scientific value."

Osbourne this month began writing a health-advice column for the Sunday Times magazine titled "The Wisdom of Oz," in which he acknowledges his legendary drug- and alcohol-fueled antics -- including biting the head off a bat -- and marvels at still being alive.

"By all accounts I'm a medical miracle," Osbourne said a column published June 6. "It's all very well going on a bender for a couple of days -- but mine went on for 40 years." He also discusses being diagnosed with a rare genetic condition that gives him a Parkinsonian-like tremor and having spent time in a mental institution.

DNA mapping still is in many ways in its infancy. Washington University in St. Louis was part of the Humane Genome Project, a 13-year project coordinated by the U.S. Department of Energy and the National Institutes of Health completed in 2003. The project identified all the approximately 25,000 genes in human DNA, determined the sequences of the 3 billion chemical base pairs that make up human DNA, and stored the information in a database.

Armstrong and several of his Cofactor Genomics colleagues were part of the Washington University team. They started their own company in 2008, and now do DNA mapping for private individuals, among other projects. Armstrong said the total cost for individual DNA mapping is about $65,000.

For Osbourne, the St. Louis scientists "will handle the technical aspects, lab work, sequencing," Armstrong said. Knome "will take the data that we produce and check changes in DNA against databases. We're kind of laying the puzzle pieces on the table and they'll find a fit for it."