New study rules out strong genetic factors

Around 10 per cent of the UK is left handed — and that percentage remains consistent in many populations around the world. But why exactly someone is left or right handed remains unclear.

New research from The School of Life Science's Professor John Armour and Dr Angus Davison, in collaboration with UCL’s Professor Chris McManus, has ruled out a ‘strong genetic determinant’ in influencing handedness.

The researchers conducted a twin study examining the whole genome — which contains hereditary information — of nearly 4,000 subjects from the London Twin Research Unit to compare left and right handed participants.