What do you want in a spouse? Genetic similarity may help

People tend to choose spouses who have similar DNA, according to scientists who reported on Monday the results of a study exploring the genetic resemblance of married couples. The researchers examined the genetic blueprints of 825 U.S. married couples and found a significant preference for a spouse with DNA similarities across the entire human genome. The researchers found that the preference for a genetically similar spouse was about a third as strong as the preference for a spouse with comparable education. We worked really hard in this study to not just replicate that fact,” said researcher Benjamin Domingue of the University of Colorado’s Institute of Behavioral Science, who led the study.