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Science/Tech See other Science/Tech Articles Title: Genes Linked to Being Right Or Left-Handed Identified ScienceDaily... Sep. 12, 2013 — A genetic study has identified a biological process that influences whether we are right handed or left handed. Scientists at the Universities of Oxford, St Andrews, Bristol and the Max Plank Institute in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, found correlations between handedness and a network of genes involved in establishing left-right asymmetry in developing embryos. 'The genes are involved in the biological process through which an early embryo moves on from being a round ball of cells and becomes a growing organism with an established left and right side,' explained first author William Brandler, a PhD student in the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at Oxford University. The researchers suggest that the genes may also help establish left-right differences in the brain, which in turn influences handedness. They report their findings in the open-access journal PLOS Genetics. Humans are the only species to show such a strong bias in handedness, with around 90% of people being right-handed. The cause of this bias remains largely a mystery. The researchers, led by Dr Silvia Paracchini at the University of St Andrews, were interested in understanding which genes might have an influence on handedness, in order to gain an insight into the causes and evolution of handedness. The team carried out a genome-wide association study to identify any common gene variants that might correlate with which hand people prefer using. The most strongly associated, statistically significant variant with handedness is located in the gene PCSK6, which is involved in the early establishment of left and right in the growing embryo. The researchers then made full use of knowledge from previous studies of what PCSK6 and similar genes do in mice to reveal more about the biological processes involved. Disrupting PCSK6 in mice causes 'left-right asymmetry' defects, such as abnormal positioning of organs in the body. They might have a heart and stomach on the right and their liver on the left, for example. The researchers found that variants in other genes known to cause left-right defects when disrupted in mice were more likely to be associated with relative hand skill than you would expect by chance. While the team has identified a role for genes involved in establishing left from right in embryo development, William Brandler cautioned that these results do not completely explain the variation in handedness seen among humans. He said: 'As with all aspects of human behaviour, nature and nurture go hand-in-hand. The development of handedness derives from a mixture of genes, environment, and cultural pressure to conform to right-handedness. Sep. 12, 2013 — A genetic study has identified a biological process that influences whether we are right handed or left handed. Share This: Scientists at the Universities of Oxford, St Andrews, Bristol and the Max Plank Institute in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, found correlations between handedness and a network of genes involved in establishing left-right asymmetry in developing embryos. 'The genes are involved in the biological process through which an early embryo moves on from being a round ball of cells and becomes a growing organism with an established left and right side,' explained first author William Brandler, a PhD student in the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at Oxford University. The researchers suggest that the genes may also help establish left-right differences in the brain, which in turn influences handedness. They report their findings in the open-access journal PLOS Genetics. Humans are the only species to show such a strong bias in handedness, with around 90% of people being right-handed. The cause of this bias remains largely a mystery. The researchers, led by Dr Silvia Paracchini at the University of St Andrews, were interested in understanding which genes might have an influence on handedness, in order to gain an insight into the causes and evolution of handedness. The team carried out a genome-wide association study to identify any common gene variants that might correlate with which hand people prefer using. The most strongly associated, statistically significant variant with handedness is located in the gene PCSK6, which is involved in the early establishment of left and right in the growing embryo. The researchers then made full use of knowledge from previous studies of what PCSK6 and similar genes do in mice to reveal more about the biological processes involved. Disrupting PCSK6 in mice causes 'left-right asymmetry' defects, such as abnormal positioning of organs in the body. They might have a heart and stomach on the right and their liver on the left, for example. The researchers found that variants in other genes known to cause left-right defects when disrupted in mice were more likely to be associated with relative hand skill than you would expect by chance. While the team has identified a role for genes involved in establishing left from right in embryo development, William Brandler cautioned that these results do not completely explain the variation in handedness seen among humans. He said: 'As with all aspects of human behaviour, nature and nurture go hand-in-hand. The development of handedness derives from a mixture of genes, environment, and cultural pressure to conform to right-handedness. Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: Tatarewicz (#0)
My mother was a natural lefty, but they forced her to be right-handed. I remember when I was a kid, they were trying to teach me how to play softball (16 inch clincher). One of the guys said, "Turn him around.",(to bat lefty) and I hit the first pitch. ;) "When bad men combine, the good must associate; else they will fall, one by one." Edmund Burke
A 2011 article in the WSJ summarizes the health risks associated with being Left-Handed. Obama and George Bush Senior are both Left-Handed.
In latin it's dexter and sinister.
"If an angry bigot assumes this bountiful cause of Abolition, and comes to me with his last news from Barbados, why should I not say to him, 'Go love thy infant; love thy wood-chopper: be good-natured and modest; have that grace; and never varnish your hard, uncharitable ambition with this incredible tenderness for black folk a thousand miles off. Thy love afar is spite at home.'" The genetic influence may tie up with pre-natal influences. It was noticed, using sonograms, that a fetus, in late pregnancy, will poke one arm out of the placental sac for a sort of steering or swimming stroke around the uterus. As far as I know, nobody has done the sort of enormous study needed to substantiate this, but the casual observation was that it seemed that it was the right arm that most often poked out and since most people are right-handed, it was theorized that the arm used in utero is the dominant one after birth. Maybe the preference for the right arm in utero is caused by these genetic factors.
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