A gene's location on a chromosome plays a significant role in shaping how an organism's traits vary and evolve

According to findings by genome biologists at New York University's Center for Genomic and Systems Biology and Princeton University's Lewis-Sigler Institute for Integrative Genomics, evolution is less a function of what a physical trait is and more a result of where the genes that affect that trait reside in the genome. Physical traits found in nature, such as height or eye color, vary genetically among individuals. While these traits may differ significantly across a population, only a few processes can explain what causes this variation - namely, mutation, natural selection, and chance. This research may help to explain why there is so much biological variation in the human species while there is relatively little genetic variation.