Romance Is In the Genes

The Search for True Love

Anyone who has spent any length of time on the playing field of romance may have wished for a magic button, which would allow them to instantly know whether or not the person they are speaking with is their perfect match. No one wants to go through a relationship that winds up in a painful separation, regardless of whether it is simply a short-term relationship or a marriage of many years.

There is significant heartache and shedding of tears that could be avoided if there were some way of knowing from the beginning whether the relationship will endure.

It appears that Internet dating services prey upon those fears when offering “compatibility tests” that allegedly match you with a partner who has similar goals, desires, values, likes and dislikes which will ensure compatibility in the first place. Is a relationship as simple as matching likes and dislikes, or is it something more? It has been suggested that the true strength of a relationship lies in the willingness of each partner to work through their issues. Statistically, it is physically impossible for two people to be 100% compatible; there will always need to be compromise. But is it just about the emotional and physical compatibility of the individuals in question? Or, does it go beyond that to the genetic basis of who we are?

Testing for Compatibility

The aforementioned Internet dating compatibility tests are widely recognized. Little known, however, are tests that delve into compatibility genetics. Should a person look for a partner based upon their emotional and physical characteristics or their genetic makeup?

The search for a romantic partner is one of the most challenging things humans ever face. The rewards, however, are often well worth it. While the Internet has dramatically changed the way we now conduct our search, there are still questions regarding true compatibility. There are companies who are trying to answer these questions for individuals. The Swiss company GenePartner is one of those. For $99 they offer a simple test to determine whether or not you are romantically compatible with someone based upon your genetic makeup.

According to their website, the inspiration came from research performed by Professor Dr. Wedekind at the University of Bern in Switzerland. Dr. Wedekind recruited female volunteers to sniff the tee shirts of men who wore the shirts for three consecutive days and rate them for “attractiveness”. He then analyzed the DNA on the shirts against the DNA of the women and found that the women preferred tee shirts from men whose specific molecules within the HLA were opposite, or a match with their own. Their bodies apparently responded to this physical attraction at a genetic level. In 2003, GenePartner collaborated with the Swiss Institute for Behavioral Genetics and tested a large group of individuals for HLA genes. This led them to develop a program which the HLA of two potential partners ostensibly to determine whether or not the couple is genetically compatible.

Is That Possible?

In 2007 a team of researchers led by Christine Garver-Apgar at the University of New Mexico investigated romantic chemistry, specifically looking at the cluster of genes involved in immune function to predict how sexually attracted a person is to their partner. The study claims to use these genes to determine whether or not an individual will be faithful to their mate. Their research looked at couples and determined that those who had dissimilar versions of MHC (major histocompatibility complex) have the highest level of sexual compatibility. Their research studied 48 couples that were romantically involved, ranging in age from 18 to 35. The women completed surveys at the commencement of the study, at the peak of their fertile cycle, and again at the peak of their infertile period. Their luteinizing hormone was then measured.

The findings indicated that “As the MHC similarity increases, women are more turned off toward the man sexually and more likely to be fantasizing about other men, specifically when she is at the fertile point in her cycle” according to team member Randy Thornhill. In addition, according to the surveys, women in similar MHC relationships reported more sexual activity with men outside of the relationship. According to Garver-Apgar in an interview with LiveScience, “This speaks to the possibility that women do seek sex outside of the relationship for a particular reason, and it is possibly to obtain genetic benefits, whether those are good genes or compatible genes.”

What About What I Want?

None of this research shows any conclusive evidence. In fact, most of it is simply research that attempts to categorize relationships on a chemical level. However, whether or not this is a scientifically sound approach to relationships is yet to be determined. There is no doubt that there could be some correlation between basic genetics and physical attraction, but what about the emotions of an individual? Can those be satisfied by genetics? In the end, relationships are best defined by a wide range of needs and desires not just the chemicals in the body.

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