SPACE scientist Michael Loweth hopes his role in a major national genetics programme will unlock the secret of why he stopped growing at 4ft 2in.

The Cowley Road, Oxford resident has never been given a diagnosis why he and older brother John reached the height aged 18.

Now their blood and those of their 6ft 2in father Peter and 5ft 8in sister Vicky Houghton have been taken to have their entire genome – or genetic make-up – sequenced.

Mr Loweth has not let his diminutive stature hold him back and has recently begun re-learning the cello, but hopes the study will reveal the secrets behind his size.

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It is hoped the study will allow scientists to pinpoint the exact genetic mutation he and his brother have compared to their family.

The London study is part of the Government’s 100,000 Genomes project to study and decode 100,000 human genomes at 11 sites, including Oxford.

Mr Loweth, 37, who was born at Basildon Hospital, Essex and moved from Hampshire to Oxford seven years ago, said: “I’m an engineer and scientist by trade so for me it is nice to find answers, it is nice to be pushing the envelope.

“We knew growing up we were unique because of these issues and therefore it would be nice to document and understand it and add to the plethora of medicine.”

His father and late mother Helgamarie [corr], who was 5ft 8in, were initially told their second child would not have restricted growth like their first child John, 45, of Cambridge.

He said: “One of the times my father saw the specialist and they said ‘this is the time you have to work out are you going to treat your two sons differently, are you going to try and pamper around this issue or get on with it?’”

“My parents were of the opinion the best way to live with this was not to make an issue of it,” he said. “I am really grateful to my parents for doing that. It hasn’t presented any closed doors or barriers.”

Reaching for the top shelf and finding the right car have been among his challenges and Mr Loweth is now being taught to fly by his pilot brother.

His work at Culham’s Enersys’ ABSL Space Products involves designing batteries for satellites, rovers and launchers for projects like NASA’s Gaia space observatory.

His father, of Billericay, Essex, said: “It is a great idea. Nobody really knew what caused it. Out of curiosity, of course I want to know.”

The family’s blood was taken for DNA sequencing by Melita [corr] Irving, consultant clinical geneticist at London’s Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust.

Mr Loweth approached the hospital 10 years ago to understand his condition and she said: “We are hopeful it will ultimately provide them with answers to their questions.

“We are expecting we will find a mutation in a gene we know is important in skeletal development or a new gene we haven’t appreciated before in skeletal development.”

Up to 10,000 Oxfordshire people with cancer and rare diseases could be tested as part of a landmark genetics project. The Oxford NHS Genomic Medicines Centre will be run by the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust (OUHT) at the John Radcliffe and Churchill hospitals.

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