Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences

By comparing small mutations in the DNA of more than 8,000 people of European descent, scientists have identified 200 areas in the genome that affect the shape of the human face. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Nature Genetics.

According to Julia White, an anthropologist at the University of Pennsylvania (USA), one of the authors of the study, the researchers tried to find out the reasons for the diversity of human faces, including natural selection, random mutations or other processes.

In recent years, geneticists and molecular biologists have been actively researching genes that affect different facial features and body shape or appearance, as well as genes that affect color, weight, fatness, and physical strength. This is due to the fact that damage to the relevant areas of DNA leads to congenital diseases and serious defects. Recent discoveries show that the number of such genes reaches several hundred or even thousands. For example, the PAX1, DCHS2, RUNX2, and GLI3K genes were found to be associated with the shape of the nose, and the EDAR gene was found to be associated with the sharpness of the jaw...

The researchers hope that the study of the role of these genes in animal and plant cells will determine their role in the formation of the human face, the anatomy of the skull and various disorders of the soft tissues of the human head. This information will not only help in the development of gene therapies for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, but also help anthropologists to understand how people look today.