Word: 4d
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...research, to be published Jan. 13 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a U.S. journal, scientists measured 44 male traders' second-to-fourth-digit-length ratio, which is otherwise known as 2D:4D and is an indicator of the effects of prenatal testosterone. The longer a trader's fourth finger relative to his index finger, and therefore the lower the 2D:4D ratio, the greater his prenatal exposure to the hormone. All of those taking part in the study carried out the same type of trading over the 20-month period studied and had the same access...
...hormone much later in life. The greater the exposure as a fetus, in other words, the higher the levels of confidence, vigilance or risk appetite triggered by testosterone in an adult. That observation has already made digit ratio a useful indicator of ability in fields other than finance; 2D:4D has been found to predict success in sports such as soccer, basketball and skiing, for instance. (Read TIME's top 10 sports moments...
...surprising. In a separate Cambridge study last April, traders with high morning testosterone levels recorded higher profits for the rest of that day than they did on days when their circulating testosterone level was low. Building on those findings, the newer study suggests that the lower those traders' 2D:4D ratios, the bigger their swing in profits between the high- and low-testosterone days...
...make better traders than women? Not exactly. Though it helped determine the male subjects' returns, the 2D:4D ratio accounts for only 20% of the difference in profit levels observed in the study, according to John Coates, a Wall Street trader turned Cambridge scientist and the study's lead author. "Which means there's 80% left unexplained. It's like height in tennis. It appears to give you some sort of advantage, but there's probably a dozen other things giving you an advantage, and if you were to focus just on [height], you'd be missing all sorts...
...more to ultrasound centers with cutesy names like Prenatal Peek and Womb with a View for high-res, golden-hued ultrasound images of fetuses in their amniotic homes. It's not hard to see the appeal. The latest advances in ultrasound technology--from grainy 2D to glorious 4D with accompanying DVD--produce images that are impressive, showing facial features, hair, fingers, toes and even a fetus' sex. Some companies throw in a sound track to go with Baby's first video...