Actor Colin Firth credited in human brain study

Oscar winner Colin Firth could be the new poster boy for science after being credited as an author of an academic paper.

The King's Speech star is listed as one of four co-authors of a study into human brains that has been hailed as a "useful contribution" to the field. The work stemmed from Firth's guest editorship on Radio 4's Today programme in December.

He is the latest celebrity to be associated with the world of science after Professor Brian Cox - a former chart star with the band D:ream, and now a particle physicist - recently helped popularise his field through his TV shows.

For his edition of Today, Firth commissioned UCL scientist Geraint Rees to scan the brains of Conservative politician Alan Duncan and Labour's Stephen Pound to see if there were any differences depending on political leanings. Scientists then continued the research with a further 90 participants. It found Liberal and Conservative attitudes were associated with thicker areas of parts of the brain.

The finding was reproduced in another sample of participants, leading researchers to estimate they could predict political leanings with 72 per cent accuracy. The paper has been published in journal Current Biology.