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Curious Cases

BBC

Science

4.8 • 4.1K Ratings

🗓️ 16 February 2021

⏱️ 30 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Why are some people left-handed, whereas the majority are right handed? Rutherford and Fry revisit The Sinister Hand episodes to further investigate handedness in humans and animals. They considered cockatoos, chimpanzees and Hannah's dog, Molly, to discover that humans are unique, with just one in ten of us being left-handed.

They ask if there is an evolutionary reason for just 10% of the human population being southpaws

Hannah talks to primatologist Prof Linda Marchant from Miami University about Neanderthal teeth and termite fishing.

Adam consults handedness expert Prof Chris McManus from University College London. He's been trying to track down the genes responsible for whether we're right or left handed.

And what about left-handed brains or eyes or molecules?

Prof Andrea Sella explains handedness, or chirality, at the molecular scale and why when we consider Thalidomide, something seemingly so trivial can be extremely important.

They also explore the left-handed brain. Some researchers point to a link between left-handedness and impairments like autism or dyslexia. Others claim that lefties are more creative and artistic.

So what's the truth? The team consults Professors Sophie Scott, Chris McManus and Dorothy Bishop to find out.

This episode is an updated version of two earlier broadcast episodes.

If you have any Curious Cases for the team to investigate please email curiouscases@bbc.co.uk

Producers: Fiona Roberts & Michelle Martin

Presenter: Adam Rutherford & Hannah Fry

A BBC Audio Science Unit production for BBC Radio 4, first broadcast in 2021.

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds, Music, Radio, Podcasts.
0:04.8	Well, hello, Curios. So, few weeks into 2021, and things have gone entirely according to
0:18.4	plan.
0:19.4	Do you remember when we started this series and we said that we are doing double, double,
0:24.1	double the length episodes, 30 minutes, and double the length series of 12 episodes, but
0:28.7	we added in the caveat.
0:30.7	It did.
0:31.7	But that depends on what 2020 might throw at us.
0:34.1	Well, 2020 has thrown, and so too apparently has 2021.
0:38.7	Yes. So, all that's meant is we're now into third lockdown, which has put a crimp on
0:45.7	our plans.
0:46.7	It has. When you add in alongside a global pandemic, just a little sprinkle of schools being
0:53.2	closed, of course, Adam and I both have children. Maybe a little hint, a little whisper
0:58.2	of healthcare problems amongst our team. Maybe a little smattering too over some studio
1:03.6	problems within the BBC.
1:04.6	Yes, well, all those beautiful ingredients come together with the resulting meal being
1:10.4	exactly two episodes short of the four mentioned 12.
1:15.0	Yes. Now, what we've had to do for these final two episodes in the series, we have gone
1:19.1	back through our catalogue and we have put together double episodes of our favourite
1:24.9	questions that we've ever been asked.
1:26.4	Yes, and you might have forgotten these.
1:28.4	The fuck, we certainly have. We don't remember any of the content of this.
	...

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