Genes found that determine human facial shapes

Five genes have been found to determine human facial shapes, as reported by researchers from the Netherlands, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
Monozygotic twins have almost identical faces and siblings usually have more similar faces than unrelated people, implying that genes play a major role in the appearance of the human face. However, almost nothing is known about the genes responsible for facial morphology in humans.
This study used head magnetic resonance images together with portrait photographs to map facial landmarks, from which facial distances were estimated. The researchers then applied a ‘Genome-wide association (GWA) approach with independent replication, to finding DNA variants involved in facial shapes in almost 10,000 individuals.
Professor Manfred Kayser from the Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, the leading author of the study, said: ‘These are exciting first results that mark the beginning of the genetic understanding of human facial morphology. Perhaps some time it will be possible to draw a phantom portrait of a person solely from his or her DNA left behind, which provides interesting applications such as in forensics.’ Erasmus University Medical Center