Story perspectives

Study Finds 479 Selected Human Genes, Red-Hair Variant Leads

4/29/2026

Summary

Story summary

Researchers published a Nature study reporting 479 genetic variants under strong selection, far above the earlier estimate of 21.
The analysis used DNA from 16,000 ancient and over 6,000 modern Eurasian individuals.
MC1R variants for red hair and pale skin ranked highest, improving vitamin D synthesis after farming.
Other selected variants link to disease risk, prompting David Reich and Ali Akbari to warn that thousands of genomes are needed for interpretation.

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Story summary

Researchers published a Nature study reporting 479 genetic variants under strong selection, far above the earlier estimate of 21.
The analysis used DNA from 16,000 ancient and over 6,000 modern Eurasian individuals.
MC1R variants for red hair and pale skin ranked highest, improving vitamin D synthesis after farming.
Other selected variants link to disease risk, prompting David Reich and Ali Akbari to warn that thousands of genomes are needed for interpretation.