Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, a researcher at the London School of Economics and Political Science, recently asked 2,500 Americans how satisfied they were with life. Then he analyzed their genetic makeup.

What he found was that the respondents most satisfied with life were more likely to have two long versions of the gene 5-HTT which is involved with the transport of serotonin, a feelgood chemical, in the brain. “De Neve looked at the genetic makeup of 2,574 people selected to be representative of the general population, whose medical histories were recorded for the U.S. National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.” Read more