Driving Isn't as Easy as It looks for Some People

There may be one new reason not to have road rage these days. Researchers at the University of California Irvine have discovered that a gene mutation that causes a person's difficulty with memory can lead to horrendous driving. 30 percent of Americans have this mutated gene, which explains the mass amount of bad drivers in the United States. The gene controls a protein called "brain-derived neurotrophic factor", which affects the memory. If a person cannot remember the basics for driving, they are most likely going to swerve in lanes and possibly cause car accidents.

The researchers at the university conducted a study on the potentially dangerous gene. The tests involved only 29 people, 7 with the mutation and 22 without the mutation, (this is a good example of chance coming into play, because the study only involved 29 participants) on a driving simulator. The simulator required the participants to memorize the path of a track with challenging curves and turns. The subjects drove 15 laps on the simulator, and were called to repeat the exercise four days later.

The drivers with the mutated gene performed 20 percent worse than the drivers who did not have the mutated gene. Past research suggests that when people with the mutation perform an activity, a smaller portion of their brain is stimulated. Although the researchers believe that when it comes to driving this gene is a danger to society, the gene can also be beneficial to humans later in life. Individuals with the gene have been found to maintain their "mental sharpness" longer than individuals without the mutation.

The researchers at UC Irvine wonder how many people with this gene mutation get into car crashes every year. If this is discovered, many lives may be saved. If individuals with the gene knew more about it, they would be much more cautious on the roads of the United States. They would recognize that they have a better chance of crashing than people without the gene mutation. This discovery is a breakthrough in seeing how to keep the roads of America safer in the future.

Acknowledgments:
For the information:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091029/od_nm/us_genes_driving_odd

http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSTRE59R5LC20091028?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews

http://www.livescience.com/culture/091028-bad-driving-genes.html

For the picture:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3051/2750711244_fde9724ebb.jpg

And finally for the opportunity of writing a blog article, Mr Wilson.

James and Emily: Section 2

Could Bad Driving Be Genetic?

View more presentations from Student Wilsonsbiologylab.