ArticlePLoS genetics2019
Genome-wide association study reveals sex-specific genetic architecture of facial attractiveness.
Article in PLoS genetics, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 21 citations in OpenAlex.
- Advancement in Human Face Prediction Using DNA.Genes · 2023Pooled it
- Testosterone mediates life-history trade-offs in female mammals.Biological reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society · 2025Review
- Chr23-miR-200s and Dmrt1 Control Sexually Dimorphic Trade-Off Between Reproduction and Growth in Zebrafish.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025Article
- Human beauty illustrates the economic impact of heritable physical traits.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2025Article
- Facial attractiveness is only weakly linked to genome-wide heterozygosity.Frontiers in psychology · 2023Article
- The impact of parenting a child with serious mental illness: Accounting for the parent's genetic vulnerability to mental illness.Journal of family psychology : JFP : journal of the Division of Family Psychology of the American Psychological Association (Division 43) · 2021Article
- Genes influence facial attractiveness through intricate biological relationships.PLoS genetics · 2019Article
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9 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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Abstract
Facial attractiveness is a complex human trait of great interest in both academia and industry. Literature on sociological and phenotypic factors associated with facial attractiveness is rich, but its genetic basis is poorly understood. In this paper, we conducted a genome-wide association study to discover genetic variants associated with facial attractiveness using 4,383 samples in the Wisconsin Longitudinal Study. We identified two genome-wide significant loci, highlighted a handful of candidate genes, and demonstrated enrichment for heritability in human tissues involved in reproduction and hormone synthesis. Additionally, facial attractiveness showed strong and negative genetic correlations with BMI in females and with blood lipids in males. Our analysis also suggested sex-specific selection pressure on variants associated with lower male attractiveness. These results revealed sex-specific genetic architecture of facial attractiveness and provided fundamental new insights into its genetic basis.
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