genes

It has been well-established that loneliness and lack of social supports are linked to an increased risk of heart disease, viral infections, and cancer as well as higher mortality rates. Now for the first time, a research team at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has found evidence suggesting that social isolation is linked to alterations of the genes that drive inflammation, the first response of the immune system...

How do we decide whom we choose as friends?

Findings from a new study at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Medicine, funded by the National Institutes of Health, suggests that our choice of friends may be genetic.

“As we grow and move out of our own home environment, our genetically influenced temperament becomes more and more important in influencing the kinds of friends we like to hang out with,” says Dr. Kendler. “The study shows how genetic and family environmental factors influence the ways in which we create our own social environment as we grow.”...