Identifying these regions is a critical first step toward understanding how genetics impacts our faces and how such knowledge could impact human health in the future. We still don’t have a complete answer to this question, but recent work published in Nature Genetics by our collaborative research team has identified more than 130 chromosomal regions associated with specific aspects of facial shape. How many genes are associated with facial appearance? So, what do we know about the genetics of facial appearance? Can we reliably predict a person’s face from their DNA? What are the implications for health and disease? We are an anthropologist and a human geneticist whose research focuses on uncovering the biological factors that underlie the similarities and differences in facial appearance among humans. The availability of large data sets combining genetic information with facial images that can be measured has rapidly advanced the pace of discovery. This gap in our knowledge was particularly galling since facial appearance plays such an important role in basic human interactions. You may be surprised to learn that until very recently, geneticists had virtually no understanding of which parts of our DNA were linked to even the most basic aspects of facial appearance. Perhaps you have seen or know someone with a genetic syndrome – that often results from a damaging alteration to one or more genes – and noticed the often distinctive facial features. Just look in the family photo album and observe the same nose, eyes or chin on your grandparents, cousins and uncles and aunts. You might think it’s rather obvious that your facial appearance is determined by your genes.