Ample Skyline

We’re all different – partly due to the environment we live in and partly due to millions of tiny variations in our genes. Researchers studying obesity can make use of that variation by comparing people who are obese with slim controls. Each colour shown here represents a human chromosome – a long stretch of DNA holding many genes – with the largest chromosome on the left going down to the smallest, and with the X [female sex] chromosome on the far right. And each dot represents a comparison of genetic variation at a particular location on the DNA. The higher the dot on the graph, the bigger the difference between the two groups. In this study the most significant site was on chromosome 16 (in light grey) in a gene know to predispose people towards obesity. Further analysis will help to unravel the genetics of this complex disorder.

Written by Julie Webb

Julie Webb

Writer

Julie began her career as a researcher in genetics. In 2000 she won a Wellcome Trust award for her work on a collaborative science drama, staged at the Edinburgh Festival. She now works as a freelance science writer and communicator.

• Image courtesy of Kai Wang, Wei-Dong Li and colleagues
• University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Originally published under a Creative Commons Licence (BY 3.0)
• Research published in PLOS One, April 2011