A study found that some women are just born to cheat and it is literally on their genes.
Researchers at the University of Queensland Australia examined the DNA of more than 7,000 people between ages 18 to 49 to determine a possible link between genetics and unfaithfulness. All the participants were in long-term relationships.
Initial findings showed that 10 percent of the men and six percent of the women had at least two sexual partners in the past 12 months. The researchers did a DNA analysis and discovered certain variations in a gene called AVPRIA, the gene related to generosity and selfless behavior.
In a similar study conducted by the same team last year, the researchers found that 63 percent of the men who admitted to cheating carry the infidelity gene, while it was 40 percent for the women. It is common belief that men are polygamous, but the researchers were surprised that even women have this tendency and that they can blame it on their inherited genes.
As the study continued, the team recently discovered that the impact of the variations of the infidelity gene seems to affect only the women rather than men. Thus men still can't use the genes as an excuse when cheating on their partners, the Daily Mail reported.
"Our research clearly shows that people's genetic make-up influences how likely they are to have sex with someone outside their main partnership," said Dr Brendan Zietsch, study leader and a research fellow at the university's school of psychology, quoted by The Telegraph.
"Isolating specific genes is more difficult because thousands of genes influence any behaviour and the effect of any individual gene is tiny."
The study was published in the journal Evolution & Human Behavior.
