nerve cells

Happiness gene determines satisfaction with life

A GENE involved in serotonin transport is being billed by researchers as the ‘happiness gene’. Scientists analysed US data on serotonin transporter gene 5-HTT copy numbers in 2500 participants who were asked ‘how satisfied with your life are you as a whole?’. They found that individuals who had two copies of the ‘long’ version of the gene had a 17% increased chance of being very satisfied with life. Having one copy of the long version of 5-HTT increased the chance of being very satisfied by 8.5%. In comparison,  one-quarter of people with two short copies ...