How Falling in Love Physically Changes Our Genes

Summary

Research indicates that falling in love can induce genetic changes in humans, specifically an increase in interferon production, which affects the immune system.

Abstract

Recent studies have revealed that the human experience of falling in love extends beyond emotional and psychological realms, physically altering our genes. The research, which involved 47 women, demonstrated that when individuals fall in love, their bodies produce an excess of interferon, a protein critical in combating viral infections. This immune response is not influenced by sexual activity, proximity, social isolation, or illness, suggesting that love itself is the catalyst for this biological change. The study further suggests that this heightened immune activity subsides once the initial phase of romantic love passes, indicating a return to normalcy as the relationship stabilizes. These findings underscore the profound impact love has on our physiology, affecting us at a cellular level.

Opinions

The author likens the unpredictable nature of human love to the behavior of electrons, which can repel or attract under different circumstances.
Love's impact on the human genome is seen as a complex puzzle due to its magnitude and the multitude of factors involved.
The article posits that the body's immune response to love, similar to reacting to an outside threat, reflects the power of love to affect us fundamentally.
It is hypothesized that the immune system's heightened state during the early stages of love could be a preparatory measure for potential pregnancy, ensuring the body is ready to fight off infections.
The author expresses optimism about future research uncovering more insights into the intriguing connection between love and our genetic makeup.

Falling in Love Changes Humans physically on Every Level — Including the Genes. Here’s How it Happens

We’re much like the very atoms that we’re composed of, you and I — us humans. Anyone who remembers science class remembers that electrons repel one another quite fiercely, keeping a comfortable distance between themselves and other electrons. But certain outside forces can cause electrons to mutually attract, as if the two electrons had been put under some spell and suddenly fell in love. Such is the way with human endeavors.

From a scientific perspective, we understand the fundamental ingredients of love, the basic building blocks of how it happens, but we don’t understand everything — nor can we predict instances of love with any sort of accuracy. The most detailed computer algorithms of today, ones which can map the Genome and display the light coming into our atmosphere from the entire visible universe seemingly effortlessly, cannot predict the seeming random nature of this very human phenomenon.

The puzzle is so complicated because of it’s magnitude. Falling in love actually changes human beings on a genetic level, researchers are now coming to find out. A study was conducted featuring 47 women falling in love, to measure the changes in the genes over time, contrasting the women who had fallen in love with the women who hadn’t. The goal was to see what impact falling in love had on the human Genome, and 115 samples from immune cells were taken.

The results were quite interesting, to say the least, in that the genes produced an excess of a protein called interferon, which is a protein the body utilizes to fight off invasions from viruses. Interferon is a key component in the body’s immune response to potentially threatening outside forces, but it also becomes activated when we fall in love with someone. In a sense, on the most basic of levels, our body’s immune system treats falling in love as if it were an outside threat, which stands as a testament to the all-encompassing power of love — that it shakes us to the core of our being, including the cellular and genetic levels. This change takes place through modulations on the genetic level.

Even more interesting, the results showed that the effects were present regardless of sexual contact (or lack thereof) and proximity, or even factors such as perceived social isolation. Illnesses also didn’t play roll in whether or not interferon was kicked into high gear, as would be expected from those who’d gotten a viral infection. When the subjects studied fell out of love, the levels of interferon subsided and the body returned to its normal production, suggesting that it’s the initial rush of romantic love which serves as the cause of the surge in the body’s immune response, and it’s been theorized that, as the relationship begins to stabilize and develop into a more long-term prospect, the body recognizes this and tucks away its theoretical big-guns, returning to a sense of normalcy.

Another hypothesis for why this happens, is that women are sounding the alarm and putting their immune system through the cellular equivalent of a fire drill in a school, to make sure it has the ability to fight off any invaders supposing her newfound romance leads to pregnancy. Further research will be needed to more deeply understand this fascinating mystery, it’s causes and reasons, but those explanations are out there waiting to be discovered, and in time, we’ll learn much more about ourselves as we look towards ourselves on every level. As it turns out, the science of falling in love is just about as fascinating as the act of falling in love itself.

Moments of Passion