Lefty or Righty? New Research Finds Genes for Handedness

Genes that play a role in the orientation of internal organs may also affect whether someone is right- or left-handed, new research suggests.

The study, published Thursday in the journal PLOS Genetics, suggests those genes may also play a role in the brain, thereby affecting people's handedness.

Still, the findings can't yet explain the mystery of why a minority of people are left-handed because each gene only plays a tiny role in people's handedness.

"Handedness is a complex trait, there are hundreds of genes involved," said study co-author William Brandler, a genetics doctoral candidate at the University of Oxford in England. "There are also lots of environmental influences." Read more...