You know those people who have the ability to pack their things and go on adventure, any time, anywhere?

Along with a tattoo of Africa (which they inked to remind them where home is), they are the ones who thrive in changing environments, flitting between jobs, people and locations while crumbling when faced with a routine.

But why?

[Because their parents pay for it all. Nah, we joke.]

Well, according to The Telegraph, researchers have “repeatedly tried to link such behaviour traits with a gene variant known as DRD4-7R, which is thought to be present in around 20 per cent of the population”:

Some commentators have even nicknamed it the “wanderlust gene”, which is certainly a sexier moniker than DRD4-7R, but to what extent does science support this idea of one gene being responsible for our relationship with exploration?

Dr Richard Paul Ebstein, Professor of Psychology at the National University of Singapore, has been studying DRD4-7R for more than two decades and believes there is definitely a relationship between the gene and “novelty seeking or extraverted behaviour”.

Oooooh, aaaah. 

Go on:

“I think overall the story is coherent,” said Dr Ebstein, who studied the relationship between DRD4-7R and financial risk taking.

“We have evidence to suggest that the same allele [gene variant] involved in the personality trait of novelty seeking and impulsivity was also involved in being pro-risk in financial situations. People who have that allele appear to be more risk prone.”

The idea of a genes being a reason for travel has long been a topic of interest.

In 1999, research by the University of California suggested “the 7R allele was more prevalent in migratory cultures than in settled ones, supporting the idea of a so-called “wanderlust gene”:

Subsequent research goes further, suggesting people with the 7R allele are actually more adaptable to nomadic lifestyle; the same studies suggested those with the 7R allele actually fared less well than their contemporaries when they lived as settled villagers.

But, as science writer, Dr Kat Arney, puts it:

“Genes are like ingredients in a recipe – certain genes make a contribution but there isn’t one single gene for, say, wanderlust. Even something like eye colour is not down to one gene.”

Because, well, there’s culture and environment that also play a key role in determining how the gene works.

Although travel might not be for everyone, there’s nothing wrong with soaking up the newfound inspiration your friend found on her trip to India.

Sure, she might be a yogi now, but everyone’s doing it. You might as well just go with the flow and #namastebitches.

[source:thetelegraph]