According to a new study by a team of Swedish and British scientists, the love of dogs is something that is inherited.
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himWhether or not we have a passion for four-legged friends is all a matter of DNA. According to a new study conducted by a team of Swedish and British scientists, in fact, love for dogs is something that is inherited, written as it is in our genetic code.
In the research published in Scientific Reports and conducted to evaluate the "heritability"Of love for dogs, scholars have wondered if genetic factors might also play a role, since previous studies had already shown that the company of dogs during childhood can lead to lasting affinity throughout the course of life.
By comparing the genomes of more than 40 pairs of twins included in the Swedish Twin Registry, the researchers assumed that while identical twins share the entire genome, non-identical twins only share about half of their genetic makeup. Therefore, by analyzing it, one can compare the impact ofenvironment with respect to the genetics of a given element.
A systematic review
For the new surveys, the researchers looked at 85.542 twin data over 15 years. Of these, 8.503 people owned dogs. They then created computer models to identify patterns among the twins that could represent genetic influence or environmental impacts that modeled lifelong attachment to dogs.
The results found that if a twin owns a dog, the likelihood that the sibling owns a dog is increased, a finding that scientists attribute more than 50% to their shared genome. In any case, the environment also influences our "preference" towards this animal, an element that was already clear previously.
"These findings are important as they suggest that the purported health benefits of owning a dog reported in some studies may be partly explained by different genetics of the people studied," says co-author Carri Westgarth, professor of human-animal interaction at the University of Liverpool in the UK.
Which genes were responsible for those feelings towards dogs is not yet known, but no doubt the study has shown how "genetics and environment play equal roles in determining love for a dog," said study co-author Patrik. Magnusson.
The next step, the researchers conclude, is to try to identify which genetic variants influence the choice of having a dog and how they relate to personality traits and other factors.
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Germana Carillo
