Researchers on Wednesday unveiled 83 rare gene variants which exert a strong influence on human height, with some capable of adding or subtracting more than two centimetres (0.8 inches). The discovery could lead to drugs to make short people taller or vice versa, or tests to identify people at risk of developing growth disorders, the team reported. More than 300 researchers from five continents trawled through genetic data from 711,428 people to find the variants. Previous research had shown that genetic inheritance determines more than 80 percent of a person’s height. Non-genetic influences include nutrition, pollution and other environmental factors.…
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