Happiness is in your genes¹ it seems, according to research that shows the more people in a country who have a particularly gene, the happier the nation will be.

一项研究发现可能存在幸福基因，国家的居民拥有的这种特殊基因越多，他们就会越幸福。

The DNA² in question, the FAAH gene, makes a protein that affects feelings of pleasure and pain. People with a particular version of it tend to be cheerier souls.

这种尚在研究的基因叫做脂肪酸酰胺水解酶（FAAH）基因，它能够合成一种影响人的悲喜的蛋白质，拥有这种特殊种类蛋白质的人会更快乐。

However, wealth and health were found to have little effect on happiness. The researchers said the find could help explain why some of the world's poorest nations are also the happiest.

然而，研究发现财富和健康对幸福并无多大影响。研究人员说这项发现有助于解释为什么世界上最贫穷的一些国家也是最幸福的。

The team from Bulgaria and Hong Kong looked at whether there was a link between levels of the FAAH gene in a population and number of people who said they were 'very happy' in global study of life satisfaction.

通过对拥有幸福基因的人与在全球生活满意度调查中声称自己非常幸福的人进行调查，来自保加利亚和香港的研究团队试图寻找到他们之间的联系。

Sweden – one of the happiest countries in Europe and in the world – also had lots of happy DNA. Some 26.3 percent of Swedes have the happiness gene, compared to 23 percent of Britons, 21 percent of the French and 20 percent of Germans.

瑞典是欧洲也是世界上最幸福的国家，瑞典人有大量幸福DNA。大约26.3%的瑞典人有幸福基因，英国为23%，法国为21%，德国为20%。

The happiness gene is even rarer in southern Europe, where it is found in 18 per cent of Greeks and just 12 percent of Italians.

幸福基因在南欧国家较为缺乏，只有18%的希腊人和12%的意大利人拥有这种基因。

Further afield, Ghana, Nigeria, Mexico and Columbia all came out near the top in the happiness league – and sported high rates of the gene.

其他的地方，像加纳、尼日利亚、墨西哥和哥伦比亚在幸福水平方面名列前茅，研究发现他们的幸福基因含量很高。

In contrast, the peoples of Iraq, Jordan, China were among the least likely to rate themselves as 'very happy' and also had the lowest levels of the gene.

与之相反，伊拉克，约旦和中国的居民是最不幸福的，而他们的幸福基因水平也是最低的。

But the gene and an optimistic outlook didn't always go hand in hand.

然而这种幸福基因和幸福感并不总是成正比的。

For instance, Russians and Estonians score very low on happiness, despite having the 'right' DNA, the Journal of Happiness Studies reports.

比如，《幸福研究》杂志报道，尽管俄罗斯人和爱沙尼亚人拥有足够的幸福基因，但他们的幸福得分很低。

Climatic differences were also found to be significantly associated with national differences in happiness.

研究发现，气候的不同也会在很大程度上影响到国家幸福水平。

study co-author Michael Minkov, of the Varna University of Management, said: 'We cannot fail to notice the high occurrence of the gene in equatorial and tropical environments in the Americas and Africa - and the lower occurrence of [it] around the Mediterranean³ Sea than in Northern Europe.

研究的作者之一、瓦尔纳管理大学的迈克尔·明科夫说：“我们发现美洲、非洲的赤道和热带地区幸福基因较多，地中海地区的幸福基因比北欧地区要少。”

A spokesman for the journal's publisher, Springer, said: 'Genetics is not the only determinant of happiness.

这本杂志的出版商斯普林格出版社的发言人说：“基因并不是决定幸福的唯一因素。”

'The economic and political difficulties continuously experienced by Eastern European nations contribute to the very low happiness scores of Russians and Estonians.'

东欧国家不断经历的经济和政治困难导致了俄罗斯和爱沙尼亚的幸福得分很低。

Researcher Professor Michael Minkov, of Sofia's Varna University, said that nations not blessed with the right DNA aren't necessarily destined⁴ to be miserable⁵ – happiness can still raise and fall for other reasons.

瓦尔纳大学的研究教授迈克尔·明科夫说，没有幸福基因的国家不一定就不幸福。幸福水平还受到很多其他因素影响。