Research Discovers That We Share Genes With Our Friends
In a previous article we addressed the question of whether we choose our romantic partners based on the differences we have with them or on the similarities.
Today, we will also analyze recent research that compared genetic similarity between friends
Similar genetics between friends? Research suggests so
A recent study pointed out that people in the same circle of friends They have genetic matches that could be compared to a degree of kinship of fourth degree cousins.
Investigation
The National Science Academy has highlighted, based on research from the Framingham Heart Study, that individuals choose friends with a high degree of genetic overlap. The authors of the discovery They worked with a sample of 1,900 subjects and examined more than a million and a half variables and genetic markers
A genetic similarity equivalent to that of fourth degree cousins
The study compared unrelated pairs of friends with pairs of subjects who were neither related nor knew each other beforehand. It was reported that pairs of friends share 1% of genes According to James Fowler, co-author of the research and professor of genetics in medicine, “This percentage of genetic coincidence is equivalent to that of fourth-degree cousins”
Furthermore, the genetic indicators that we share with our friends are also those that are characterized by evolving more frequently compared to the rest of the genes, according to researchers. The study reveals that Friendships have an influential role in our health: “Health is not only based on physiological issues, but it is also influenced by the people around us, especially friends,” says study co-author Nicholas Christakis, professor of biology, sociology and evolutionary medicine at Yale.
The research also concluded that the people we choose as friends tend to have notable differences from us in their type of immune system, which can have a positive impact on both of us because it offers us a complementary immune protection This study supports the scientific line that suggests that human beings are metagenomic, that is, we are not only a combination of individual genes, but also a mixture of genes from the people who make up our circle of friends.
