Tiny gene change affects brain size, IQ: scientists [View all]

[FarCenter]

An international team of scientists said Sunday the largest brain study of its kind had found a gene linked to intelligence, a small piece in the puzzle as to why some people are smarter than others.

A variant of this gene "can tilt the scales in favour of a higher intelligence", study leader Paul Thompson told AFP, stressing though that genetic blessings were not the only factor in brainpower.

Searching for a genetic explanation for brain disease, the scientists stumbled upon a minute variant in a gene called HMGA2 among people who had larger brains and scored higher on standardised IQ tests.

Thompson dubbed it "an intelligence gene" and said it was likely that many more such genes were yet to be discovered.

http://www.france24.com/en/20120415-tiny-gene-change-affects-brain-size-iq-scientists