Hyderabad-based CCMB part of world’s largest genomic study.

October 19, 2022

The Hyderabad-based Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB) has become part of the world’s largest and most diverse genomic study covering 54 lakh individuals. It identified 12 thousand 222 places in the human genome that are associated with human height.
The study by name ‘A saturated map of common genetic variants associated with human height’ was published in Nature science journal recently. Researchers from across the world, including chief scientist Dr G R Chandak from CCMB, came together to form a consortium to study genetic links to human height.
They analysed existing genetic data of over 53 individuals drawn from various parts of the world. In the course of the genomic study, the researchers identified over 1,200 spots in the human genome that literally dictate the height of humans.
An official release stated that the study paves the way for similar investigations on the impact of genes on other human traits and diseases.
The findings from the path-breaking study have the potential to help researchers worldwide understand how the human body grows.
They also enable researchers to understand the increased risk of several diseases such as irregular heartbeat, varicose veins, nerve damage in arms and legs, and bone infections among taller people.
The findings also support earlier studies which predicted that 40-50 percent of height variation among people could be explained by common genetic variants.