Fertility genetic pattern found

Researchers working in Iceland have identified a genetic pattern that makes some Europeans more fertile.

The genetic pattern, known as an inversion, is a stretch of the DNA code that runs backwards in people who carry it.

Usually, such rearrangements of a chromosome are harmful to carriers. However, this one causes carriers to have more children each generation - giving them what is known as a selective advantage.

The finding, published in the journal Nature Genetics, opens some interesting questions about human evolution, the team at Iceland's DeCODE Genetics said.

- AGENCIES