'Hedgehog' Genes Determine Tall or Short

They include genes, such as the hedgehogs, that are essential for cell division, a finding that may be useful for cancer research. Some genes act as switches, which turn other genes on and off. And others play a role in cell-to-cell signaling.

But roughly half of the genes are a completely unknown quantity.

"The number and variety of genetic regions that we have found show that height is not just caused by a few genes operating in the long bones" of the body, said Tim Frayling of the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter, southwestern England.

"Instead, our research implicates genes that could shed light on a whole range of important biological processes.

"By identifying which genes affect normal growth, we can begin to understand the processes that lead to abnormal growth -- not just height disorders but also tumor growth, for example."

Taller people are statistically likelier to be at risk from some kinds of cancer (prostate, bladder and lung, for instance), while short people seem to be more prone to heart disease.

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Human Height