Abstract

Researchers have discovered a gene that regulates writing ability and when faulty can cause excessive male writers’ inhibition. They have also identified the mechanism underlying this phenomenon.
The study showed that normal male human show no interest in writing novels and write little or not at all when offered a free choice between a white page and a soccer match on TV.
However, male human with a genetic mutation to the gene Oulipo1 overwhelmingly preferred writing over watching TV, choosing to pass almost 85% of their daily time in writing.

When contacted, Pr Marcel Benabou, Consultant Humanist at BNF, joint lead author said : “It’s amazing to think that a small change in the code for just one gene can have such profound effects on complex behaviours like writing ability." Working at the BNF, the team led by Professor Marcel Benabou introduced subtle mutations into the genetic code at random throughout the genome and tested male human for writing aptitude. This led the researchers to identify the gene Oulipo1 which improves writing capacities so strongly that male human carrying either of two single base-pair point mutations in this gene prefered writing over watching soccer match on TV. The group showed that male human carrying this mutation were willing to write by using a pencil and, unlike normal human, continued to do so even over long periods. They would voluntarily consume sufficient ink to become real writers and even have difficulty in stopping writing.

“We are continuing our work, said Pr Benabou, to establish whether the gene has a similar influence in female humans, though we know that in female humans writing is much more complicated as environmental factors, such as children, husbands… come into play. But there is the real potential for this to guide development of better treatments for writers’ inhibition in the future.”