Scientists begin search for DNA that gives us our looks

Whether it was your destiny to be tall or short, blonde or redheaded, fair or olive-skinned, it's no secret that your genes made you that way. But exactly what parts of DNA determine people's physical characteristics is still a mystery to scientists, and one that researchers based at The Queensland University of Technology are trying to solve.

Scientists at the QUT-based Cooperative Research Centre for Diagnostics have begun blood-testing members of the public in an Australian-first study to find which parts of our DNA make us look the way we do. Some distinctive people - including a 203cm (6'8") basketballer and two women from Blush Models - will be on hand to help researchers understand the genetic secrets behind height and hair colour.

QUT senior research fellow Dr Angela van Daal said, if successful, the study could open up a new realm of possibilities for medical diagnosis and forensic investigation. "In a few years' time, a hair or body fluid left at a crime scene could tell us the perpetrator's height, nose size, skin colour, eye colour and other physical characteristics," Dr van Daal said.

"It would be like having an eye-witness to point investigators in the right direction, and would be invaluable where police did not have a suspect."

Dr van Daal said the research also had the potential to identify genes that made some people more vulnerable to diseases such as skin cancer. "If we can find a gene that makes people especially vulnerable to conditions such as skin cancer, it would then be easy to test people for the presence of that gene," Dr van Daal said.

"This would allow people to find out if they are particularly susceptible and then to take extra precautions every day."

Dr van Daal said the research team was looking for 1,000 members of the public to take part in the research.

Item provided courtesy of The Queensland University of Technology