A 2014 study by Yale University and the University of California found that close friends unknowingly choose each other based on shared DNA sequences. The most common gene shared by friends is the “olfactory” gene, and on average, close friends share 1% of their genes.
Friends are said to be the family you choose, and a 2014 study by researchers at Yale University and the University of California at San Diego found that there is more truth to this statement than one might think. The research, which studied an ethnically homogeneous group of individuals, found that people unknowingly choose close friends who have DNA sequences in common. An analysis of 1.5 million markers of genetic variation found that pairs of friends tend to have the same level of genetic relatedness as people to their fourth cousins or a great-great-grandparent.
We are just like a family:
The researchers wanted to “provide a profound evolutionary account of the origins and meaning of friendship,” said Nicholas Christakis, a professor of sociology, evolutionary biology and medicine at Yale.
The most common gene shared by friends, according to the study, was the “olfactory” gene, which is involved in a person’s sense of smell.
On average, the pairs of close friends shared 1% of their genes. This may not sound like much, but scientists have found it significant.
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