Scientists look into CHEATING GENE

A friend once suggested to me that you could find clinical trial results "to support anything you want," the idea being that if you believe strongly in something, there is probably a study out there somewhere that supports your beliefs. I wasn't really convinced of my friend's assertion until I was driving to work this morning and heard this on the radio: a new study in Sweden has found that there is a "cheating gene" that "makes" men cheat in their relationships. A slew of men and women called in to the radio show to comment on this "breaking news." Many men said, "That explains everything! We have to cheat because it's in our nature." While the women's comments, to no surprise, ran along the lines of, "That's just another excuse to make them feel better about cheating."

The study, conducted by geneticists at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden, found that this gene variant is present in two out of every five men. More than 2100 subjects participated in the study, which was based on previous research in prairie voles regarding a gene's impact on the hormone vasopressin. Apparently, men with two copies of the gene have twice the risk of experiencing martial dysfunction, according to a Washington Post article on the study. The gene can also predict whether a man will live with a woman or get married, or seem emotionally distant and disagreeable. The media is going as far as to say that women may want to have their male partners undergo a genetic test before marriage to see whether the potential mate may be a bad prospect for long-term commitment.

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Women subjects were not part of the study. But granted the amount of press this study is getting, I expect a follow-up with women is on the horizon.

If you want to check it out, the study is published in the current Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I'm glad research dollars are being spent on clinical studies that can benefit greater mankind. And as my friend pointed out, I'm also glad that research can, indeed, support almost anything we humans want to hear.

Sometimes love goes astray, but a new study says guys might not have much control over their cheating hearts.


"It's no excuse to be unfaithful," said one researcher. "I think the bottom line of this study [is that] there are genetic vulnerabilities that we all inherit. We can be ruled by them or we can be in charge of them."


Researchers say that some men might be born to cheat.


A new study published in the Journal for the National Academy of Science says it is because of a certain genetic make-up in guys that affects an important attachment hormone. It prevents men from establishing long, committed relationships.


Doctor's say guys are not off the hook though. While the gene might make us more vulnerable to temptation, it doesn't necessarily mean we can't be monogamous.

Who knows, this may result in a pre wedding blood test to determine if a person is a cheater