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What the Gazes
15 December 2017

What the Gazes

What are you looking at? The chances are scientists already know. In a recent study, cameras watched the eye movements of 466 children as they looked at series of pictures (top row). The corresponding blue images show where their gazes linger – on faces and interesting objects like the birthday cake. But the children in the study had something else in common, they were twins. Although the overall gazing 'maps' were similar between all the children, pairs of identical twins scanned across the interesting areas in different ways. In fact, a twin’s gazing pattern – the sequence in which their eyes darted around the pictures – can often be used like a fingerprint to identify their sibling. This suggests that our genetic makeup plays a role in where we put our attention, and from an early age affects how we interact with new and changing environments.

Written by John Ankers

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BPoD stands for Biomedical Picture of the Day. Managed by the MRC Laboratory of Medical Sciences until Jul 2023, it is now run independently by a dedicated team of scientists and writers. The website aims to engage everyone, young and old, in the wonders of biology, and its influence on medicine. The ever-growing archive of more than 4000 research images documents over a decade of progress. Explore the collection and see what you discover. Images are kindly provided for inclusion on this website through the generosity of scientists across the globe.

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