johnnymk

You know, I don't remember ever knowing a left hander who was dumb. The ones I have known seem to be very bright.

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2007/07/31/left_gene/

Researchers at the University of Oxford have identified a gene that increases the likelihood of its carrier being left-handed.

The gene plays a role in developing brain symmetry and is also associated with an elevated risk of developing mental illnesses such as schizophrenia.

Called LRRTM1, the gene is involved in allocating functions such as speech and language processing to different areas of the brain. Asymmetry in the brain is normal: ordinarily the left side of the brain controls language and speech, while the right deals with emotion. In left-handers this is reversed.

Unusual balances of brain function are not just associated with handedness, though, they are also linked to various psychotic disorders including schizophrenia.

But despite their findings, the researchers say left-handed people, that is one in ten of us, should not be alarmed.

Study leader Dr Clyde Francks, of the Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, said: "People really should not be concerned by this result. There are many factors which make individuals more likely to develop schizophrenia and the vast majority of left-handers will never develop a problem. We don't yet know the precise role of this gene."

Asymmetry in the brain may also have been an important evolutionary step: apes have much more symmetrical brain function than do humans, for instance, and show no preference for using either left or right hands.

The research is published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry. ®

oblongmelon

I have a daughter who was a lefty till she was 4 years old..then she switched and became a righty. Wierd. She's pretty damn smart too!

ray

I'm ambidextrous when it comes to certain things and i'm...i don't remember what i was going to type.

zippyjuan

My grandfather is a lefty. I think that being left or right handed can to some extent be learned. Maybe not as much as it used to be, but kids can be encouraged and thus learn to use one hand more than the other for tasks such as hitting or throwing a ball or writing. "No, try it with your other hand!"

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gwilks98

I'm left handed with most tasks, but I kick better with my right (in soccer).

Wonder what the gene guys say to that

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"Cold silence has
A tendancy to
Atrophy any
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uncledaddy

Funny!
The only thing I do exclusively by right hand is write otherwise it's whichever hand is closer, easier, or more comfortable. Also I know a lot of people who are left handed and they are not only bright but exceptionally good artists.

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beatbox32

I eat and write with my right hand, but throw and kick things with my left side... I dunna get it...

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"Until and unless you discover that money is the root of all good, you ask for your own destruction. When money ceases to be the tool by which men deal with one another, then men become the tools of men. Blood, whips and guns--or dollars. Take your choice--there is no other--and your time is running out." - Atlas Shrugged

BigJon

Left handed with writing...but can't use left handed scissors. Throw, hit, and swing right. Use a fork with left, spoon and knife with right (seriously...if I try to switch it feels weird).

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Kevster

I am generally ambidextrous, though I do certain things exclusively left- or right-handed. I can write (print) with both hands, though I can only write cursive with my right hand. I use eating utensils with both hands, I can even use chopsticks using either side as well. I throw better with my right than my left, though I can switch-hit in softball with no problems. I used to have my mouse set-up left-handed, but I changed it over to right several years back after Mrs. Kevster kept getting annoyed with everything being backwards to her.

Of the things I do exclusively left-handed, it's mainly because I track with my left eye. I shoot left-handed, I do archery left-handed, I fish left-handed (annoys my brother who's a righty sometimes as my reels are all set-up left-handed) , etc.

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I think over again
My small adventures, my fears.
The small ones that seemed so big,
For all the vital things I had to get and to reach.

And yet there is only one great thing, the only thing:

To live to see the great day that dawns,
And the light that fills the world.

-old Inuit song

faither

That's correct!

The Happy Squirrel

this is weird there are a few things that i know i do exclusivly with my left hand that i cant think of now but i know i have tired them right ahnded and it doesnt work. other then that i am right cdominatne

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