Science finally knows why people cheat on their partner.

You don’t need to look far to find a cheater. At work, in celebrity news, in the plot line of another movie (where inner strength, true love and an ultra successful creative cupcake business are realised only after the discovery of being cheated on), and of course, next to you in bed (just jokes).

But what does make someone cheat? Are cheaters born or made?

Rather than solely look at the emotional grounds people cheat (lack of communication, growing apart, temptation, tequila slammers), scientists have discovered that human biology and chemical imbalances in the brain might make someone predisposed to coming home and telling a huge, big corker of a lie to their partner about where they have been for the past five hours.

See it all perfectly explained here:

So it seems that there could be more to a cheater than just being a narcissistic arsehole. Studies have found that low levels of the hormone vasopressin (the hormone that effects trust, empathy and social bonding) have an influence on cheating and the neurotransmitter dopamine (it is released in the brain after pleasurable activities) plays its part.

One study found that 50% of people with the long allele variant of the dopamine receptor gene had cheated on their partner compared to 22% of people with the short allele variant of the same gene.

There could be biology involved ... but, maybe, don't tell a cheater that.

Do you think biology is an excuse? Let us know in the comments.