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Jenice Armstrong: Is cheating in the genes?

IF THERE were a genetic test that could determine ahead of time if your guy was a cheater, would you ask him to take it?

It's no wonder people jumped onto this particular study. People want answers to the mysteries of human behavior, particularly when you read about the entanglements of folks such as Sen. John Edwards, seen with his wife, Elizabeth. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)
It's no wonder people jumped onto this particular study. People want answers to the mysteries of human behavior, particularly when you read about the entanglements of folks such as Sen. John Edwards, seen with his wife, Elizabeth. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)Read more

IF THERE were a genetic test that could determine ahead of time if your guy was a cheater, would you ask him to take it?

Was that a collective "Hell, yeah!" that I just heard?

If such a test were available, would you ask him to submit to it on the first date so as not to waste time on a possible philanderer?

"My question or comment is how will a woman find out?" quipped Neil Simpkins, an account manager in Center City, in an e-mail yesterday. "Will she require a blood test from every guy and at what point does she request the test?

"What if the gene is dormant at a young age and progresses as he gets older or vice-versa?"

And if you're a male, would scientific proof of possessing such a genetic marker provide you with the ultimate get-out-of-jail-free card? As one of my male friends asked yesterday, "If the genes make you do it, it's not your fault, right?" I can see the T-shirts now - "Forgive me, darling. I've got the gene."

Kidding aside, for the first time, scientists have uncovered a fragile yet possible genetic link to a men's propensity to stray. The findings are extremely - let me repeat - extremely preliminary, but I did some digging around anyway because it's causing such a buzz.

I woke up early yesterday to hearing folks on NBC's "Today Show" talking it up right along with all the segments on Republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin's pregnant teenager. CBS' "Early Show" reportedly also aired a piece on it about the same time. Later, I read a Washington Post story on the subject headlined, "Study Links Gene Variant in Men to Marital Discord."

Granted I was groggy, but at first it sounded as if the Holy Grail of relationships had been uncovered. A "monogamy gene" no less. But, alas, nothing in life is ever quite that simple. The findings, which were reported by the Karolinksi Institute in Sweden, were based completely on animal research.

Researchers studied male voles - mouse-like creatures - and found that those with certain variations in their genetic makeup were impacted in terms of their social bonding, suggesting a possible link between DNA and bonding behavior. A news release about the study said that a variation in a gene for one of the receptors in a hormone called vasopressin appears to be linked to how males connect with their mates.

Yesterday, I spoke with Penn State psychology professor Jenae Neiderhiser, one of the researchers who collaborated on the study, who cautioned against reading too much into the findings.

"This is just one piece of the puzzle," Neiderhiser pointed out. "Obviously, the environment plays a huge role . . . [bonding] is a complicated behavior, and one single gene isn't going to explain everything there is to know about it."

Considering how many folks have been cheated on or have cheated on someone else, it's no wonder people jumped onto this particular study. People want answers to the mysteries of human behavior, particularly when you read about the entanglements of folks such as Sen. John Edwards and embattled Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick.

"I think it's something that we keep hearing about in the media and it makes us wonder about our own lives . . . it starts to sound like there's no safe harbor," said Pepper Schwartz, chief relationship expert at Perfectmatch.com and professor of sociology at the University of Washington. "People are looking for a way to minimize risk." *

Peeped a hot trend that hasn't been reported? E-mail heyjen@phillynews.com and let me know what you know. To discuss this column and to see what else we're talking about, log onto my blog at

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