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After hearing the story last night on my local late night news that scientists had discovered a “gene that causes men to cheat,” I felt compelled (as a red-blooded American male) to investigate the story in greater detail. After all, what man wouldn’t want to claim that his philandering behavior was caused by aberrant genes—“Honey, I really do love you but my genes made me do it!”

A quick perusal of several articles on the subject revealed that scientists at Sweden’s famed Karolinska Institute had previously identified a variant of a gene that may be responsible for the sexual infidelity in voles (mole-like mammals). The wild type gene is thought to encode a protein that regulates the activity of hormones involved in vole sexual fidelity.

In an attempt to extend their observations to humans, Karolinska scientists screened 1,000 couples and found that two of five (40%) males had the so-called “cheating allele (s).” Not surprisingly, the researchers didn’t disclose whether men with the variant allele(s) cheated (or were more likely to cheat) on their mates. The researches primarily focused on men because the gene is thought to play less of a role in females.

I think the results of the study are interesting—and may have some basis in fact— but I think the news media, as usual, has made a “mountain out of a mole hill (pardon the pun)!” Undoubtedly, the discovery may provide men caught cheating with an excuse albeit a feeble one. However, it is evident that the study will provide little solace for women who are caught cheating on their mates!!!!

After spending seven long years as a medical school professor listening to one immunology seminar after another, one thing is for certain--that discoveries in mice don’t always translate well in humans. That said, I think the jury may still be out on the “cheating gene.”

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Hunting (only jobs)

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Does the smell of a fresh pot of coffee brewing get you going in the morning? Do you experience a rush of energy simply by getting a whiff of freshly-brewed joe? If you do, there may be a genetic explanation for it.

A group of scientists at Seoul National University in Korea exposed sleep-deprived rats to coffee bean aroma and then assessed the effects by performing genetic and protein analysis on their brain tissue. These results were compared with those obtained from sleep-deprived rats that were not exposed to coffee. Unstressed, non-coffee exposed and unstressed - coffee exposed rats served as controls in these experiments.

According to results published in The Journal of Agriculture and Food Science, the Korean scientists found that mRNA levels of 11 of 13 genes were elevated in the coffee-exposed rats: the levels of 2 others were decreased. They also found differential expression of proteins (using mass spectroscopy) in the two groups of rats. For example, a protein known to have an antioxidant effect was expressed at higher levels in the coffee-treated group.

So what does this all mean? According to the authors “the roasted coffee bean aroma changes the mRNA and protein expression levels of the rat brain, providing for the first time clues to the potential antioxidant or stress relaxation activities of the coffee bean aroma.” Will these observations hold true for humans? Only time will tell. That said, remember that the best laid plans of mice (rats?) and men often go astray.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (try Starbucks) !!!!!

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