The blog Biopolitical Times has an intriguing occasional feature called “gene of the week” – announcements of discoveries of genes which determine our behaviour. The latest is what Fox News delicately described as “the slut gene”.  It allegedly predisposes people for infidelity and one-night stands.  

This was manna from heaven for headline writers. But as Pete Shanks points out, the researchers seemed to have written their press release to make the media happy. But when you read the fine print, you discover that the study of the sexual behaviour of 181 young adults had many caveats:

There may be alternative explanations, the findings are "not definitive at this point," the behavioral outcomes are "probabilistic and by no means deterministic" and there may be cultural influences.

Science by press release may not always be the best science. Is there a “Golly, gee whiz” gene for journalistic credulity? ~ Biopolitical Times, Dec 7