Researchers Identify Gene Responsible for Being Right or Left Handed

Researchers at the Oxford University have found genes that determine if a person will be right or left handed.

Our world is made for right handed people- from desks, keypads to video game consoles. For centuries the lefties fought with prejudice and even accusations of being in Satan's camp. Science hasn't been able to explain why humans are usually right handed- about 90 percent.

Now, a study has shown that a certain variant in a gene determines whether a person is a south paw.

"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 William Brandler, a PhD student in the MRC Functional Genomics Unit at Oxford University and lead author of the study.

Experts also suggested that the genes may establish right or left differences in the brain, according to a news release.

For the study, scientists used genome-wide association study to identify gene-variants that co-relate with people's choice of hands.

GWAS studies examine the link between genes and specific traits (mostly used to study human disease). In this kind of study, researchers look into the entire genome for variations in single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP- pronounced as "snips) that occur in people who have the particular trait.

They found that a variant in the gene PCSK6 determined handedness in the embryo. The team also found that disruption of this gene variant in mice led to defects in organ positioning. For example, these mice might have heart on the right side of the body and liver on the left.

However, researchers caution that the genes aren't solely responsible for hand preference in humans.

"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," William Brandler said.

The study is published in the journal PLOS Genetics.

Researchers from St Andrews, Bristol and the Max Plank Institute in Nijmegen, the Netherlands also worked on the study.