Right Hand, Left Hand
The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms and Cultures

By Chris McManus

Winner of the 1999 Wellcome Trust Book Prize published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson 28 March 2002

Issue date: 26 March 2002

The winner of the 1999 Wellcome Trust Book Prize, has his book Right Hand, Left Hand, The Origins of Asymmetry in Brains, Bodies, Atoms and Cultures published on 28 March 2002.

The universe is full of asymmetries, but is it really possible that asymmetry in basic physical forces could lead to asymmetry in humans? In Right Hand, Left Hand Chris McManus takes a fascinating look at all aspects of handedness and concludes with a clear argument linking the deepest laws of physics with the fact that our hearts are on the left side of our bodies and that the majority of us are right-handed.

The very stuff from which we are made exhibits handedness, with amino acids (the substances that make up proteins) being right or left-handed. What is fascinating is that left-handed amino acids predominate in all forms of life. Why should there be such asymmetry in amino acids in the first place and how and why should one form predominate over another? Could it really be due to the handedness of the molecules from which all life developed, molecules that arrived on earth on a meteorite?

What has led to people driving on the right or the left, or writing from left to right in some countries and right to left in others? Why should it be that wherever one looks, on any continent, in any historical period or in any culture, right and left have their symbolic associations and always it is right that is good and left that is bad?

In Right Hand, Left Hand how handedness develops in humans and the implications of being left-handed in a right-handed world are explored in detail. McManus provides his theory for how handedness may be genetically inherited and outlines the fascinating links between handedness and language. Many of the myths that surround left-handers are refuted: left-handers are not more likely to die early nor more intelligent or creative than right-handers.

The Wellcome Trust Prize provides a unique opportunity for professional life scientists to tell the world about the wonders of science. The prize of £25,000 enables the winner to take a break from their normal routine so that they can write a popular science book about some aspect of the life sciences.

Caroline Hurren, Head of Consultation and Education at the Wellcome Trust said: "Communication between scientists and the public is increasingly important in this age of rapid technological and scientific advances. Chris McManus has tackled an ambitious subject and produced a book that is both informative and stimulating. He addresses a subject so broad that it encompasses the building blocks of life, the universe and everything."

Chris McManus has devoted his career to this subject area and the breadth and scope of his knowledge is staggering. From detailed explanation of the processes that are now thought to enable a growing embryo to place the developing heart on the left to errors of right and left-handedness in paintings and literature, Right Hand, Left Hand is peppered with examples of asymmetry both fascinating and surprising:

• How many men, or women for that matter, know that testicles are asymmetric, the right hand always being larger and higher than the left.

• Fold your arms without thinking - which wrist is uppermost? Now try folding them the other way - quite difficult, as we all have an automatic preference for which wrist is uppermost.

As one of the worlds leading experts on handedness, McManus has understandably picked up a great deal of trivia relating to left and right. Did you know that the muppets are left-handed? Were you aware that the BBC testcard is back to front? Or that the right foot is more ticklish than the left?

Given the wealth of evidence and examples of handedness from all aspects of our lives it is perhaps surprising that McManus has only found one good 'handedness' joke - 'I would give my right arm to be ambidextrous'

The Author
Chris McManus is Professor of Psychology and Medical Education at University College, London. He is the author of the leading text book, Psychology in Medicine and is the co-editor of The Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine. He is one of the world's foremost experts on handedness and lateralization.

For further information contact:

Sallie Robins, Weidenfeld & Nicolson:
020 7249 4858; sallierobins@aol.com

Shaun Griffin, Wellcome Trust Media Office:
0207 611 8612; s.griffin@wellcome.ac.uk

Note to Editors:

The Wellcome Trust is an independent, research-funding charity, established under the will of Sir Henry Wellcome in 1936. The Trust's mission is to foster and promote research with the aim of improving human and animal health. The Trust invested £810,000 in art that has public and scientific impact in 2001.