One of the largest-ever genome-wide association studies has identified 697 genetic variants for human height — several hundred more than a previous, smaller study.

Peter Visscher of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, and a team of hundreds of scientists analysed the combined results of 79 genome-wide association studies, encompassing 253,288 people, and found that the common gene variants account for 16% of the genetic contribution to height. Many of the variants lie near genes in biochemical pathways associated with skeletal growth, and others were linked to genes that were not previously thought to be growth-related.

The authors suggest that tens of thousands of common genetic variants together influence height, and that bigger genome-wide association studies including hundreds of thousands of people will continue to provide useful biological information.

Nature Genet. http://doi.org/v6k (2014)