Media Coverage on Nature Genetics GDF5 and Height Paper

Arthritis may affect billions of people worldwide. It may come as little consolation to them, but scientists say that painful joints may be the price humanity has paid for survival.

Genetic mutations that made ancient people shorter and more prone to osteoarthritis may have also helped them endure an ice age, the New York Times reports.

Arthritis is a medical condition that many people world-wide suffer from. A science magazine has recently published an article in which arthritis might have been the medical condition, which helped the early Europeans survive the harsh conditions of the...

A genetic change associated with shorter stature and increased risk of arthritis might have helped our ancestors survive the Ice Age, a study has showed. The findings showed that mutations in the gene called GDF5 resulted in shorter bones that led to a...

Shortness, reduced mobility and sore joints may not come to mind when you think of survival of the fittest. But human evolution could suggest otherwise.

When humans began migrating out of Africa more than 100,000 years ago, they brought with them the genetic material necessary to survive the cold of Europe and Asia. But this same mutation that helped our ancestors likely also contributed to the...

“Arthritis is the price for our ancestors surviving the Ice Age, say scientists,” reads a Telegraph headline. Newsweek adds, “Human evolution: Africa exodus made homo sapiens shorter and gave them arthritis.” Both articles respond to research published...

Researchers at Stanford University and Harvard University have found that mutations in the GDF5 gene associated with shorter stature allowed our ancestors to migrate from Africa to frigid parts of the North 50,000-100,000 years ago. However, these same...

If you're taller than average and worried about what that means for your risk of arthritis later in life, Terence Capellini and David Kingsley may have some good news for you.

A gene linked to increased risk of osteoarthritis and reduced height may have helped early humans survive Ice Age, a study has found. Researchers at the Stanford University and Harvard University in the US have shown that, despite its association with the...

New York: A genetic change associated with shorter stature and increased risk of arthritis might have helped our ancestors survive the Ice Age, a study has showed.

Researchers from the US and Canada have concluded that the establishment of a mutation that increases the risk of arthritis may be linked to human migration out of Africa.

"Interestingly, the region that harbours this variant is closely linked to other mutations that affect GDF5 activity in the joints, increasing the risk of osteoarthritis in the knee and hip," said Terence Capellini.

A single genetic change linked to both reduced human height and an increased risk of osteoarthritis might seem like something quickly dismissed from evolution. After all, how could being shorter and less mobile be an advantage in the fierce competition...

The shortening of bones experienced by early humans to withstand cold climates doubled our risk of developing osteoarthritis, according to a study from Stanford University School of Medicine.

The shortening of bones experienced by primitive man in order to withstand cold climates doubled our risk of suffering from osteoarthritis.

A genetic change associated with shorter stature and increased risk of arthritis might have helped our ancestors survive the Ice Age, a study has showed.

A genetic change associated with shorter stature and increased risk of arthritis might have helped our ancestors survive the Ice Age, a study has showed.

Arthritis is a very common joint inflammation. Early Europeans may have survived the ice age because of arthritis.

Mutations in the gene called GDF5 resulted in shorter bones that led to a compact body structure while reducing the risk of bone fracture from falling. Thus, it also favoured early humans to better withstand frostbite.

Joint pain is the price we paid for evolution

Like many others, Ive been rewatching the Game of Thronestelevision series in preparation for the start of the seventh season later this month. So I dont think its all that odd that an image of Jon Snows first trip to the jaw-dropping Wall of ice (which...

A single gene mutation that helped early humans survive in Europe and Asia during the Ice Age may also increase the risk of arthritis in modern-day humans. 

A genetic 'switch' that changes the activity of a key skeletal gene related to height has been discovered by a team of researchers, who have also pinpointed a genetic variant in the switch that favors shortness and is far more prevalent among Eurasian...

A gene linked to increased risk of osteoarthritis and reduced height may have helped early humans survive Ice Age, a study has found.

ARTHRITIS is often thought to be due to wear and tear, or triggered by the body's immune system, but there could be another reason - frostbite in our ancestors.

When humans began their slow migration out of Africa some 100,000 years ago, they carried with them the genetic seeds necessary to help survive the bitter chill of Europe and Asia.

A gene variant widespread in Europe and Asia not only damages the joints but also shortens the leg bones and could therefore reduce the risk of fractures.

The study showed that mutations in the gene called GDF5 resulted in shorter bones that led to a compact body structure while reducing the risk of bone fracture from falling.

The study also uncovered a surprising link -- between the sequence that favours shortness and an increased risk of osteoarthritis.

According to researchers from Stanford and Harvard universities, a variant of the GDF5 gene, which is involved in bone growth and joint formation, has two effects on carriers of its mutations.

A SIN­GLE gene that made it eas­ier for early hu­mans to colonise Europe and Asia also causes arthri­tis, re­searchers claim. The gene, which causes peo­ple to be more com­pact, be­came more com­mon when early hu­mans moved out of Africa.

Many people think of osteoarthritis as a kind of wear-and-tear disease, but there's clearly a genetic component at work here as well.

Humans in Europe and Asia evolved to have shorter bones and an increased risk of osteoarthritis, a trade-off that may have helped them in colder climates, Stanford researchers say.

If you’re short or suffer from arthritis, you may have evolution to blame – at least, according to a new study of a genetic variant found in Asian and European populations.

A single gene that made it easier for early humans to colonise Europe and Asia also causes arthritis, researchers claim. The gene, which causes people to be more compact, became more common when early humans moved out of Africa. Being smaller helped...

For the 10 million Britons suffering from arthritis, it may be cold comfort to know that they might not be alive today at all, were it not for their aching limbs.

A single genetic change linked both to a reduction in human height and an increase in osteoarthritis risk might seem like it would quickly be kicked to the evolutionary curb.

For those days when arthritis, here’s something to keep in mind: at one point in human history, it may have been the thing that kept early Europeans alive.

The gene that increases your likelihood to suffer from arthritis could also be the gene that helped humans survive through the Ice Age, scientists have discovered.