You think your youngsters have the potential to be a certain something or achieve a certain thing?  Forget it. It has less and less to do with how hard you push them. Or with how long hours they practice. Or what breaks they get. Their success will have more to do with … well, things like where their belly buttons are located.
Researchers at Duke University checked out a hundred years of sprint records. They found that where a runner’s belly button is located determines how fast he or she will be able to run. That location tells them whether they have long or short torsos. The length of the torso is related to the length of the legs. And that, of course, determines their potential speed. 
This is why so many great sprinters are of West African origin. They have, on average, shorter torsos (higher belly buttons) and longer legs than runners of European origin.
If you are of European origin, take heart when it comes to swimming. Europeans’ longer torsos and shorter legs helps them swim faster.
My advice is that if you are white, and chased by a black, head for the water. And if you are black, chased by a white, run clear of the river.
Hold the presses. Jessica Bennett writes in Newsweek that handsome men earn, on average, 5 percent more than their less-attractive counterparts. Good-looking women, 4 percent more. Pretty people get more attention from teachers, bosses and mentors.
She says a majority of hiring managers say qualified but unattractive candidates have a harder time landing a job.
Various researchers claim your handedness – left or right – will get you into all sorts of fixes. Or get you out of them. They say mathematicians, musicians, architects and artists are more commonly left-handed. While only 10 percent of us are left-handed, 20 percent of the top performers in SAT tests are left-handed.
Meanwhile, if you are right-handed, you are more likely to develop arthritis. Sorry about that.
Next, we look at finger length. We compare the length of one to another. Researchers claim these lengths and ratios may determine if we are gay or straight. Or ambi-sexual.
Finger length may also predict our musical ability, say the researchers. Also our athletic ability.
Some reckon it predicts what speed we will be able to run at. (Stick that long finger in your high belly button and nobody will catch you.) They also believe our aggressiveness or passiveness is related to finger length. As well as our level of motivation. And our results on SAT tests. So is the likelihood of osteoarthritis and certain cancers.
Already parents-to-be are choosing the sex of their offspring. Imagine if docs ever offer them the chance to choose these other attributes. “We’d like a handsome boy with chops on the piano and top SAT’s. Straight, please. And make sure he can fix our cars. And support himself. And …”
And we have barely scratched the surface when it comes to predicting destiny fromour DNA. Nonetheless, it is already a brave new world.
From Tom ... as in Morgan.                  

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