偷情是基因作怪 劈腿或是天性

It might seem like the perfect get-out clause for those with a ­roving eye: some people just aren’t built to be faithful. Scientists have found a gene that raises the odds of ­cheating on a partner. They say that when a man or woman with the ‘love rat gene’ has an affair, they receive the same chemical rush as a gambler whose luck has changed or an alcoholic savouring a drink.
　　科學家經研究發現，對於那些常常不能安心在穩定的戀情中的人來說，他們做出的劈腿行爲屬於“天性使然”。研究者發現劈腿的戀人身上有一種基因，這種基因會使得他們更容易在戀情進行時做出背叛戀人的行爲。此外，如果在酒精的作用下，具有這種“偷情基因”的男女更容易“一拍即合”做出劈腿的行爲。

Researchers quizzed 180 young men and women about their attitude towards relationships and tested them for a gene called DRD4, which affects levels of the brain chemical dopamine. The one quarter or so with the ‘love rat’ version of the gene were more than twice as likely to be unfaithful. And when they did cheat, they had more one-night stands, the journal PLoS ONE reports.

美國的研究團隊調查了180個年輕的男性與女性，經過詳細瞭解了他們以往的感情史與愛情觀之後，對他們做名爲 DRD4的基因檢測，據悉，這種基因能夠影響大腦中多巴胺的含量。研究發現，大約25%的人擁有“偷情基因”，而擁有這種基因的人更容易對伴侶做出不忠的行爲、發生一夜情的機率比普通人要高出兩倍。

Last month, scientists found that the same strain of the DRD4 gene can also make people have more liberal views. Because the genetic variant drives people to seek out ‘novelty’, it can also make people more likely to seek out less conventional political views, the U.S. study found.

科學家還發現，“偷情基因”並非只具有負面作用，它還具有一些正面影響呢。據調查，具有這種基因的人更能接受新奇的事物，包容性更強。如果對於政治家來說，具有這種基因的政治家往往屬於革新派、改革派類別。

Vocabulary：

roving adj. 流動的；徘徊的

dopamine n. 多巴胺（一種治腦神經病的藥物）

variant adj. 不同的；多樣的

novelty n. 新奇；新奇的事物；新穎小巧而廉價的物品