tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785493.post5468616475505834595..comments2024-01-04T04:11:55.717+02:00Comments on Dienekes’ Anthropology Blog: Genes for Height and Body Mass Index; and, the limits of association studiesDienekeshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02082684850093948970noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785493.post-24952587671921028652008-09-22T14:38:00.000+03:002008-09-22T14:38:00.000+03:00The FTO gene has been linked to obesity and BMI, i...The FTO gene has been linked to obesity and BMI, in several large-scale studies. As per a report submitted by British scientists last year more than half the people of European descent have one or two copies of a variation of this gene. Individuals with two copies of the gene variant are on average 7 pounds heavier and 67 percent more likely to be obese than those who don't have it. <A HREF="http://www.phentermine-effects.com/" REL="nofollow">http://www.phentermine-effects.com</A>Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785493.post-75071532501671231472008-09-12T22:56:00.000+03:002008-09-12T22:56:00.000+03:00This study is very much in line with my own suspic...This study is very much in line with my own suspicians regarding stature. I'd long thought that most of us in the middle range of height probably owed our stature to the various combination of general populations height genes, with some being slightly shorter and some slightly taller. But there were others out there-- the very tall, and the very short -- who often had some rare family genes for height.<BR/><BR/>On my wife's side of the family, many of the people, both male and female, appear to have what I've thought of as the "minus-6 gene". It seems to be inherited as a simple dominant and appears to reduce height by about six inches. I'm fairly convinced that a single gene is doing this, rather than many genes each contributing a small effect. Several family members from several generations seem to have this, with the women (all well-fed and healthy) being between 4'9" to 5', and the men being from 5'2" to 5'5". Other unaffected siblings are average in height, with the men being 5'10" or so. The contrast between the siblings is stark.Kosmohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05156165962330239126noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785493.post-40391976304078370042008-09-11T20:52:00.000+03:002008-09-11T20:52:00.000+03:00mcg,Well the reason for using Mennonites or some o...mcg,<BR/><BR/>Well the reason for using Mennonites or some other largely inbred group, is that it would be easier to filter out the relevant genes for a particular trait being studied.<BR/><BR/>Yes, this method is not going to tell you which alleles on which genes another group has maximized for this same trait, but in all likelihood it would point to the pathway to achieving some elevated rating on such a trait.<BR/><BR/>For instance, using Ashkenazi Jews and examining IQ, we find that they have a number of novel alleles on certain genes involved in lipid and sphingolipid storage - these are shown to yield higher IQ in the heterozygous state.pconroyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10312469574812832771noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785493.post-24872798955998099052008-09-11T15:02:00.000+03:002008-09-11T15:02:00.000+03:00Very interesting meditation. It would seem that un...Very interesting meditation. It would seem that understanding the implications of the genome is not easy at all if many traits are largely described by rare "private" genes. <BR/><BR/>I wonder if other traits, not directly related to health, something like anthropometrical phenotypes, could be largely be defined by such rare and therefore hypervariable genes too. <BR/><BR/>...<BR/><BR/><I>So we need more family-based linkage studies - like say in the Mennonites or some such, I guess?</I><BR/><BR/>It would only be of some use to them. These are "private" alelles, the kind that mutated "recently" and are found nowhere else or almost. <BR/><BR/>What may happen is that only the super-rich could get such detailed genetic family info and benefit of the potential benefits of such knowledge. Though that knowledge may be useless anyhow - because people who have tendency to get fat, for instance, usually know it by other means. And developing such ultra-specific gene-based therapies may not be viable either. <BR/><BR/>But it's not impossible to think in a handful of ultra-rich paying enormous sums for research into heir family-specific conditions and treatments while the mass-killer diseases remain being ignored.Majuhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12369840391933337204noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785493.post-3806547287374644752008-09-11T14:58:00.000+03:002008-09-11T14:58:00.000+03:00I like the comments on what is needed to understan...I like the comments on what is needed to understand the results of data. Recent plots showing geographical correlations with autosomal measurements are a good example. It's the needle in the haystack effect??? What is the signal they're identifying??? Is the source of the differentiation causal or correlative (i.e. storks and babies)?<BR/><BR/>98.5% of the autosomal SNP's don't code. It is surmised/inferred that one of their roles is as the "source code" for the coding genes? Until there is a better understanding of what they do; these kind of studies are grabbing at straws. Yet, maybe this is how we find out???<BR/><BR/>re: the above comment. What different would you expect to find in the autosomal genes about Mennonites??? I do suspect their Y Chromosome patterns will be highly correlated? Autosomal non coding genes are non-recombining and they change by drift etc. This is what makes the geographical correlation so interesting. What signal are we observing???McGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03459589185170647441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7785493.post-6432294919341117952008-09-11T06:52:00.000+03:002008-09-11T06:52:00.000+03:00Fascinating!So we need more family-based linkage s...Fascinating!<BR/><BR/>So we need more family-based linkage studies - like say in the Mennonites or some such, I guess?pconroyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10312469574812832771noreply@blogger.com