There have been many theories going around on the issue why some people are smarter than others. It is speculated that generally a normal human being just uses 10% of their brain. There have been many studies conducted to deduce a way to increase a person’s intelligence. One such study conducted by an international team of scientists has found a gene that might be linked to the intelligence. According to the scientists, the findings of this study could hold the key for why some people are smarter than the others.

A neurologist at the University of California at Los Angeles, Paul Thompson, who also led the study, confirmed that a variant of the gene that they found can lead to higher intelligence. Although he also stated that genetic alterations might not be the only factors in the brainpower.

The initial aim of their study was not to find the link between increased intelligence but to find a genetic explanation for brain disease. But in the process they stumbled upon a minute variant of gene called HMGA2. This variant was prevalent in people who had larger brains and had a higher score on standardized IQ tests. This discovery came after the scientists did brain scan and DNA sampling of more than 20,000 people from North America, Europe and Australia, of European ancestry.

Thompson has termed this variant gene as an intelligence gene and said there are a lot of similar genes present in the humans which are yet to be discovered. He said, “It is a strange result, you wouldn’t think that something as simple as one small change in the genetic code could explain differences in intelligence worldwide”. This revelation gives weightage to the fact that, genes along with good education and environmental factors determine a person’s intelligence.