How do gymnasts like Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles pull off their gravity-defying routines? They rely on proprioception, a person’s awareness of his or her body in space. It’s been dubbed humans’ sixth sense, along with touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. Scientists recently identified a gene, or unit of hereditary material, that contributes to people’s ability to move and balance.
Researchers found the gene by analyzing the DNA of two people who have difficulty walking and performing tasks such as fastening buttons—particularly when they’re not able to see their limbs. The pair had mutations, or changes, to a gene called PIEZO2. Different versions of the gene may give people different levels of proprioception.
“It’s possible that someone with a less severe mutation just seems extra clumsy,” says Carsten Bönneman, a pediatric neurologist at the National Institutes of Health and co-leader of the study.