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(xué)家經(jīng)研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，對(duì)于那些常常不能安心在穩(wěn)定的戀情中的人來(lái)說(shuō)，他們做出的劈腿行為屬于“天性使然”。研究者發(fā)現(xiàn)劈腿的戀人身上有一種基因，這種基因會(huì)使得他們更容易在戀情進(jìn)行時(shí)做出背叛戀人的行為。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”做出劈腿的行為。

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(guó)的研究團(tuán)隊(duì)調(diào)查了180個(gè)年輕的男性與女性，經(jīng)過(guò)詳細(xì)了解了他們以往的感情史與愛(ài)情觀之后，對(duì)他們做名為 DRD4的基因檢測(cè)，據(jù)悉，這種基因能夠影響大腦中多巴胺的含量。研究發(fā)現(xiàn)，大約25%的人擁有“偷情基因”，而擁有這種基因的人更容易對(duì)伴侶做出不忠的行為、發(fā)生一夜情的幾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(xué)家還發(fā)現(xiàn)，“偷情基因”并非只具有負(fù)面作用，它還具有一些正面影響呢。據(jù)調(diào)查，具有這種基因的人更能接受新奇的事物，包容性更強(qiáng)。如果對(duì)于政治家來(lái)說(shuō)，具有這種基因的政治家往往屬于革新派、改革派類別。

Vocabulary：

roving adj. 流動(dòng)的;徘徊的

dopamine n. 多巴胺(一種治腦神經(jīng)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(jià)的物品