Blame the old man for your dad dancing: it’s in his genes
IF YOUR dancefloor prowess is limited to clumsy dad dancing then you can blame your father’s genes, but unfortunately you will probably pass it on to your own children.
Data show that the ability to stick to a rhythm is a partially hereditary trait encoded in genes.
A team of researchers in the US analysed genetic data from more than 600,000 people and looked at their ability to synchronise with a beat, and found varying degrees of skill.
Participants were asked to tap along to four 30-second excerpts from You’re the First, the Last, My Everything by Barry White, El Contrapunto by Los Mensajeros de la Libertad, The Rite of Spring by Stravinsky and Possessed to Skate by Suicidal Tendencies.
The study revealed that 69 genes are instrumental in keeping time, a skill called “beat synchronisation”.
In total, up to 16 per cent of a person’s rhythmic skill is down to their genes, the authors write in their study, published in the journal Nature Human Behaviour.
Environment plays a key role in the other 84 per cent and rhythmic ability can be enhanced with training, even if the genetic lottery is fixed at birth.
The genes responsible for musical locomotion were also found to be linked to other motor skills, such as walking and breathing.
This could indicate that humans have an innate ability to follow rhythms owing to a shared genetic framework which is stronger in some than others.
Data in the study came from the central database of the genetics company 23andme, which has information from millions of people who have willingly shared their DNA.
The scale of the dataset offered a “unique opportunity” to spot even small changes in genetic patterns, said Dr David Hinds, a statistical geneticist at the California-based company and co-author of the study.