Born to Travel? Could Be Genetics

Some people consider their desire to travel as an undeniable need. Despite the fanciful title of “wanderlust” that most people give it, this passion for constantly exploring new places could be deeper than a preference; it could be in your blood.

According to an article in Elite Daily, researchers believe they have isolated a gene in human DNA that predisposes some to that get-up-and-go urge. Called DRD4-7R (7r denotes the mutated form of the gene), the “wanderlust gene” is relatively rare — found in only 20 percent of the population — but explains increased levels of curiosity and restlessness, according to one study.

Another study by David Dobbs of National Geographic explored this research further, concluding that the 7r mutation of DRD4 results in people who are “more likely to take risks; explore new places, ideas, foods, relationships, drugs, or sexual opportunities,” and “generally embrace movement, change, and adventure.” These traits are linked to human migration patterns. Dobb found that when compared with populations who have mostly stayed in the same region, those with a history of relocation are more likely to carry the 7r gene.

Other scientists doubt that something as complex as human travel can be whittled down to a single gene mutation, but — for better or worse — a number of “exploratory character traits” have been found in association with 7r.

If you occasionally like to see a new place, take a yearly vacation and have a general interest in travel, you’re probably a completely normal person. But if you have an unquenchable, insatiable necessity for traveling, and often do so without a set plan, then you might just be the product of millions of years of human development. Are you a 7r carrier?

— written by Brittany Chrusciel