For the first time, scientists have found four spots on your DNA that might determine whether you wield your pen with your left hand.
involved in brain development and structure, according to a genetic analysis of about 400,000 people in the United Kingdom, including more than 38,000 left-handers.
The study also found that"in left-handed participants, the language areas of the left and right sides of the brain communicate with each other in a more coordinated way," said Dr. Akira Wiberg, a University of Oxford medical research fellow who did the analysis. "This raises the intriguing possibility for future research that left-handers might have an advantage when it comes to performing verbal tasks, but it must be remembered that these differences were only seen as averages over very large numbers of people, and not all left-handers will be similar," he said in a news release from UK Research and Innovation, which funded the study.Scientists already knew that genes play a role in determining handedness.
"Around 90% of people are right-handed, and this has been the case for at least 10,000 years. Many researchers have studied the biological basis of handedness, but using large datasets from UK Biobank has allowed us to shed considerably more light on the processes leading to left-handedness," Wiberg said.
The study also found links between the genetic regions involved in left-handedness and a very slightly reduced risk of
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Scientists have identified the genes linked to left-handednessFor the first time, scientists have identified the genetic differences associated with left-handedness, a trait found in 10% of the human population.
Read more »
'Lefty DNA' found - and it changes brain structureScientists start to chip away at the mystery of why one in 10 people is left-handed.
Read more »
Apple may add in-screen fingerprint reader to 2020 iPhonesApple will reportedly include Face ID and an in-screen fingerprint reader in its 2020 iPhones.
Read more »
HIV prevention is making progress. And a breakthrough vaccine appears within reachA spate of large-scale clinical trials has scientists hopeful about a vaccine to prevent HIV.
Read more »
Top California scientist was on dive ship, presumed dead: governorA senior environmental scientist and her husband were on the dive boat that caug...
Read more »
Scientists monitoring new marine heat wave off West CoastFederal scientists say they are monitoring a new ocean heat wave off the U.S. West Coast, a development that could badly disrupt marine life including salmon, whales and sea lions.
Read more »