Wanderlust may be written in our DNA Skip to content Subscribe today Every print subscription comes with full digital access Subscribe Now Menu All Topics Health Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology View All Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes View All Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment View All Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics View All Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology View All Magazine Menu All Stories Multimedia Reviews Puzzles Collections Educator Portal Century of Science Unsung characters Coronavirus Outbreak Newsletters Investors Lab About SN Explores Our Store SIGN IN Donate Home INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921 SIGN IN Search Open search Close search Home INDEPENDENT JOURNALISM SINCE 1921 All Topics Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology Tech Computing Artificial Intelligence Chemistry Math Science & Society All Topics Health Humans Humans Anthropology Health & Medicine Archaeology Psychology Recent posts in Humans Archaeology Iron Age mass grave may hold unusual victims: mostly women and children By Tom Metcalfe2 hours ago Genetics Wanderlust may be written in our DNA By Elie Dolgin4 hours ago Health & Medicine This itch-triggering protein also sends signals to stop scratching By Tina Hesman SaeyFebruary 21, 2026 Life Life Animals Plants Ecosystems Paleontology Neuroscience Genetics Microbes Recent posts in Life Genetics Wanderlust may be written in our DNA By Elie Dolgin4 hours ago Health & Medicine This itch-triggering protein also sends signals to stop scratching By Tina Hesman SaeyFebruary 21, 2026 Paleontology A mouth built for efficiency may have helped the earliest bird fly By Jay BennettFebruary 19, 2026 Earth Earth Agriculture Climate Oceans Environment Recent posts in Earth Climate Halting irreversible changes to Antarctica depends on choices made today By Carolyn GramlingFebruary 20, 2026 Climate Snowball Earth might have had a dynamic climate and open seas By Michael MarshallFebruary 19, 2026 Oceans Evolution didn’t wait long after the dinosaurs died By Elie DolginFebruary 13, 2026 Physics Physics Materials Science Quantum Physics Particle Physics Recent posts in Physics Physics Physicists dream up ‘spacetime quasicrystals’ that could underpin the universe By Emily ConoverFebruary 17, 2026 Physics A precise proton measurement helps put a core theory of physics to the test By Emily ConoverFebruary 11, 2026 Physics The only U.S. particle collider shuts down – so a new one may rise By Emily ConoverFebruary 6, 2026 Space Space Astronomy Planetary Science Cosmology Recent posts in Space Science & Society Project Hail Mary made us wonder how to survive a trip to interstellar space By Tina Hesman SaeyFebruary 20, 2026 Astronomy This inside-out planetary system has astronomers scratching their heads By Adam MannFebruary 12, 2026 Space Artemis II is returning humans to the moon with science riding shotgun By Lisa GrossmanFebruary 4, 2026 News Genetics Wanderlust may be written in our DNA Some people seem born to pack up and go — and their genetics may help explain why Inherited traits may explain a small but measurable share of why some people relocate far from where they were born. Luke Stackpoole/Unsplash By Elie Dolgin 4 hours ago Share this:Share Share via email (Opens in new window) Email Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook Share on Reddit (Opens in new window) Reddit Share on X (Opens in new window) X Print (Opens in new window) Print From ancient nomads to modern job-hoppers, the urge to move may be written partly into our DNA. People’s tendency to set down roots far from where they were born is partly inherited and grounded in early brain development, researchers report February 6 at bioRxiv.org. What’s more, the underlying genetic signatures appear both in modern populations and in ancient human genomes dating back thousands of years. The findings, based on a large genetics study, suggest that long-distance migration is shaped not only by jobs, housing and politics but also by biological traits linked to cognition and risk-taking that have been favored by evolution for millennia. Sign up for our newsletter We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday. “There is something in our genome that affects our decisions” to move, says Ivan Kuznetsov, a behavioral geneticist at the University of Tartu in Estonia who was not involved in the research. For the new study, neurogeneticist Jacob Michaelson of the University of Iowa in Iowa City and colleagues analyzed genetic data from about 250,000 people in the United Kingdom and compared how far people lived from their birthplace with DNA patterns across their genomes. They found that people who moved farther tended to share variants in genes involved in brain development, particularly those active in cells known as excitatory neurons, which play key roles in learning, planning and weighing uncertain outcomes. Although these genetic differences accounted for only a small slice of migration behavior — around 5 percent of the differences in how far people move — the signal held up even after accounting for education and health, suggesting that the itch to move isn’t just about diplomas or well-being, but is rooted, at least in part, in our biology. The genetic patterns were not unique to modern societies either. Michaelson’s team analyzed ancient DNA sequences from more than 1,300 individuals who lived as long ago as 10,000 years. The same migration-linked genetic variants predicted how far people moved during their lifetimes in the past, as measured by the distance between individuals’ inferred birthplaces and burial sites. Such variants also rose in frequency over time, a sign that natural selection has favored traits linked to mobility and exploration as humans spread into new environments. Even centuries after the Age of Exploration, when global empire-building reshaped flows of human movement during the 15th and 16th centuries, those ancient tendencies still seem to influence who moves today — and which places stand to benefit economically. A separate analysis of U.S. data hinted that these genetic tendencies may shape regional economic fortunes. The researchers calculated an average “migration score” — a DNA-based estimate of how inclined people are to move far from home — for people in 222 counties, drawing on genetic data from more than 3,000 adults recruited through an autism research study. They found that counties that gained more residents with migration-linked genes tended to experience faster income growth later. That trend raises the possibility th
Wanderlust may be written in our DNA
