By scanning for single nucleotide polymorphisms, or snps, a team of scientists have identified a single-letter difference, either a 'c' or 't', in the <span style=" />HMGA2 gene that accounted for an estimated 0.3% of the height variation in humans.The data is based from nearly 30,000 adults and children from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) and the Exeter Family Study of Childhood Health (EFSOCH), European adults taking part in a study of type 2 diabetes risk (UKT2D GCC), Finnish individuals participating in the FINRISK1997 health survey, and a set of tall and short European American and Polish adults assembled for studies of height.

Compared to individuals with two 'T'-containing copies of the gene, those with one 'C'-containing copy of the gene tended to be taller by roughly half a centimeter, and those with two copies were nearly a centimeter taller on average.

The study has been published in the September 2 advance online edition of Nature Genetics.