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One of the lesser-known differences between people is that some individuals have bigger or smaller proteins than others. That’s because the genes that code for these proteins have repeating regions of DNA that can occur different numbers of times. And each repeat adds an extra string of amino acids to the protein.
The most comprehensive analysis to date of these genetic stutters—called variable numbers of tandem repeats (VNTR)–now shows they assert a strong influence on traits such as height and baldness. The findings, published today (September 23) in Science, could help to explain some of what is known as missing heritability: that known genetic variations in humans cannot account for much of the heritability of diseases, behaviors, and other phenotypes.
“If you have a short version of the gene, you maybe have 1000 amino acids in your protein, and if you have a long version of ...
