The fingers of fate

The length of your fingers can be a pointer to your true character, scientists claim.

It can apparently show whether you are a sporting natural like David Beckham, or a risk-taker such as Madonna.

Dr John Manning, an evolutionary biologist, has compiled a list of traits among men and women based on research at Liverpool University.

He suggests that men whose ring finger is longer than their index finger tend to have good sporting skills and high fertility, although they might struggle to communicate. By contrast, he says, men whose ring finger is roughly the same length as their index finger tend to be poor at sport but are better able to express themselves.

England football captain David Beckham, with his long ring finger - sporting a diamond wedding band - appears to adhere to Dr Manning's theory, demonstrating keen sports talent while admitting himself that communication is not his strongest point.

With two young sons by his wife Victoria, fertility also appears not to be a problem.

Risk-taking and assertiveness among women are linked to a relatively-long ring finger, although they can also suffer from poor communication skills.

Women with roughly equal ring and index fingers can tend towards being neurotic with an aversion to risk and low assertiveness, but are linked to good communication skills.

The ring and index fingers of Madonna, whose reputation for assertiveness is widely known, are roughly equal.

She also bears out another of the traits linked to equal finger length, showing in both her career and personal life that she is not afraid to take risks.

Dr Manning's research has in the past found evidence that men with ring fingers the same length or shorter than their index fingers are most at risk of a heart attack in their thirties and forties.

He has already suggested that by studying boys' hands, doctors could spot those who need to take measures to protect their heart, such as a low-fat, low-salt diet and plenty of exercise.

Links between finger length and breast cancer, autism, dyslexia and fertility have also been found.

While in the womb, the embryo is suspended in a mixture of hormones-which influence both the development of heart and brain as well as the relative lengths of fingers, which appear to remain fixed throughout life.

Therefore an adult's finger length will give a measure of which hormones most strongly affected early growth as a foetus, which Dr Manning's team then uses to predict health risks and character traits.