From face to DNA: New method aims to improve match between DNA sample and face database

Predicting what someone's face looks like based on a DNA sample remains a hard nut to crack for science. It is, however, getting easier to use such a sample to filter the right face from a face database, as an international team led by KU Leuven has shown.

Our physical appearance, including our face, is hardwired into our genetic material. Scientists have already identified multiple genes that determine the shape of our face – from the distance between our nostrils to the shape of our chin.

Still, that doesn't mean that we can draw somebody's face based on a DNA sample, explains electrotechnical engineer Peter Claes of KU Leuven, the senior and corresponding author of the study. "We believe that the shape of our face is determined by thousands of genes, but also by the food we eat and other living conditions. Therefore, it is unlikely that we will ever be able to accurately predict a lifelike face from DNA alone."

The researchers have now developed a reverse approach that works better: "Instead of going from DNA to face, we're trying to go from face to DNA. Using special software, we measure each face and check if this face is a possible outcome based on a unique bit of DNA."

"It then becomes a game of 'guess who.' If the face is male and the DNA says it is a woman, all the men are eliminated. If the hair is blond and the genetic material confirms this, that eliminates all other hair colours."

"The more genes we identify, the more accurate this method becomes, and it will only continue to improve as our knowledge of the relevant genes grows."