Scientists Stack Up New Genes For Height 66
An anonymous reader writes "An international team of researchers, including a number from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill schools of medicine and public health, have discovered hundreds of genes that influence human height. Their findings confirm that the combination of a large number of genes in any given individual, rather than a simple 'tall' gene or 'short' gene, helps to determine a person's stature. It also points the way to future studies exploring how these genes combine into biological pathways to impact human growth."
Re:Epigenetics Programming? (Score:3, Interesting)
There's lots of room for all sorts of other factors. These genes account for only 10% of the height difference:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/09/100929132529.htm [sciencedaily.com]
This study wasn't designed to look for epigenetic factors. It was basically: line up a lot of people, measure 'em, and give 'em a quick gene scan. (Not a full sequencing, necessarily; it was a meta-study to get the maximum data, and they needed hundreds of thousands.) That genetic scan doesn't tell you anything epigenetic.
The rest is a lot of math. And in the end they accounted for only a small part of the overall variation. 10% is still interesting, but not nearly enough to merit the kind of headlines this gets.
Re:Kinda Makes Sense (Score:3, Interesting)
Agreed. Especially since we can see plenty of species where the scaling has happened on individual limbs. Dinosaurs' short arms, fiddler crabs' long/large single arm, kangaroos' short arms and/or big legs, giraffe necks, etc...
Although a combination would be impressive; if there was a single scaling master gene, plus limb-/bone-leve adjustments, that would be a very flexible (no pun intended) setup, as good as one might set out to design.