WASHINGTON : What do Lady Gaga, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Paul McCartney and Justin Bieber have in common with Ronald Reagan, Jimi Hendrix, Judy Garland, Fidel Castro and David Bowie? They are all left-handed, a trait shared by roughly 10 per cent of people.
FILE PHOTO: A man places his hand on a mural to honor earthquale victims in Mexico City, Mexico October 19, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo
In most people, the two halves, or hemispheres, of the brain have slightly different anatomies and are dominant for different functions. TUBB4B controls a protein that gets integrated into filaments called microtubules that provide internal structure for cells. The identification of rare mutations in this gene that are more common in left-handers suggests that microtubules are involved in setting up the brain's normal asymmetries, Francks said.
The findings were based on genetic data covering more than 350,000 middle-aged to older adults in Britain in a dataset called the UK Biobank. About 11 per cent were left-handed."We think that most instances of left-handedness occur simply due to random variation during development of the embryonic brain, without specific genetic or environmental influences. For example, random fluctuations in the concentrations of certain molecules during key stages of brain formation," Francks said.
"This likely reflects suppression of left-handedness in some cultures - making left-handed kids switch to right-handedness, which also used to happen in Europe and North America," Francks added.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
World’s most expensive drug is $5.7 million gene therapyThe Lenmeldy treatment is used to correct the cause of early-onset metachromatic leukodystrophy.
Read more »
US 'very disappointed' after Netanyahu cancels Israeli visit to WashingtonSenior US officials would still meet for separate talks with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant.
Read more »
US 'very disappointed' after Israel PM cancels visit to WashingtonWASHINGTON: The White House said on Monday (Mar 25) it was very disappointed that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had cancelled a high-level Israeli delegation's planned visit to Washington after the US abstained from a
Read more »
Washington Supreme Court rules Bar Exam no longer required, X users blaming “Woke madness”Latest Breaking News
Read more »
Washington makes new push for Gaza ceasefire to head off famine, Rafah assaultBoth sides have been discussing a six-week truce, but they have yet to narrow differences over what would follow.
Read more »