Washington, Dec 7: Researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem
have found that some people are genetically programmed to be generous.

The findings are based on an online task involving making a choice
whether or not to give away money, the researchers found that those who
chose to give away some or all of their money differed genetically from
those involved in the exercise who chose not to give their money away.

For the study, the researchers conducted an experiment with 203 online
‘players’. Each player could choose to keep the equivalent of 12
dollars he was allocated, or to give all or part of it to an anonymous
other player. They also provided DNA samples, which were analysed and
compared to their reactions.

It was found that those who had certain variants of a gene called
AVPR1a gave on average nearly 50 percent more money than those not
displaying that variant.

"The experiment provided the first evidence, to my knowledge, for a
relationship between DNA variability and real human altruism, " said
Dr. Ariel Knafo, of the Psychology Department at the Hebrew University
of Jerusalem.

The gene AVPR1a codes for the production of a receptor that enables a
hormone, arginine vasopressin, to act on brain cells. Vasopressin, in
turn, has been implicated in social bonding.

The researchers found greater altruism in players in which a key
section of the AVPR1a gene, called its promoter, was longer. The
promoter is the region of a gene that allows cellular machinery to bind
to it and determine how much gene product is made. In the case of this
gene, a longer promoter can result in greater activity.

According to the researchers, the findings could help biologists sort
out altruism's evolutionary history. They noted that a version of
AVPR1a also exists in rodents called voles, where it also promotes
social bonding. This suggests that altruism has a long rooted genetic
history, which may have taken on a new role during human evolution.

The results of the study were published online in the research journal Genes, Brain and Behaviour. (ANI)