Good memory for faces and places? It's your genes

I've always wondered how in the world certain politicians and socialites seem to remember familiar faces so easily. Some people have an amazing ability to recall this sort of information at the drop of a hat. Like so many other things, your good memory (or lack thereof) is strongly affected by your genes.

The study was conducted with a set of fraternal and identical twins, the latter having the exact same genetic makeup. During testing, the twin's brains were scanned using a functional MRI. Not surprisingly, brain patterns were more similar for the identical pair when they tried recalling faces and places. This is opposed to their ability to recall objects (like chairs) and made-up words easier.

So next time you see a politico in action, you won't have to wonder how they do it -- it's in their genes!