Bad eyes and big nose? Blame your parents

Scimex: A large Australian-led study has pooled genetic data from a collection of twin studies, in order to determine the extent of heritable traits - the features that are passed down in families - in humans. They tested 17,804 traits in humans, and found that some of the most heritable included those that are associated with the eyes, ears, nose, throat, skin, and bones, whereas some of the least heritable were in areas such as reproduction and social values.

Nature vs nurture: research shows it’s both

Queensland: One of the great tussles of science – whether our health is governed by nature or nurture – has been settled, and it is effectively a draw. University of Queensland researcher Dr Beben Benyamin reviewed almost every twin study across the world from the past 50 years, involving more than 14.5 million twin pairs. The findings, published in Nature Genetics, reveal on average the variation for human traits and diseases is 49 per cent genetic, and 51 per cent due to environmental factors and/or measurement errors.

Infants’ environments play key role in their heights as adults

Technion. Israel: If you have ever wondered why you’re not a little taller, it turns out it’s not all about genetics. In findings published in the Journal of Pediatrics (January 2015), an Israeli research team shows that the environment in which one lives from the womb to about age one largely determines an adult’s height. The pioneering study was conducted by researchers at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Tel Aviv University and Bnai Zion Hospital, in collaboration with Regional Health Offices in Haifa and Tel Aviv.