Researchers believe an antibody that is involved in the human stress response may shed light on what makes some humans turn violent too. They injected mice with a protein that interferes with the production of cortisol, the body’s main stress hormone, and observed the mice became more aggressive.
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People sometimes say that their blood boils when they get angry. It turns out the root of violence might literally be in the blood.

Scientists found that when they injected mice with a chemical from the blood of violent criminals, those rodents were far quicker to start fights with their fellow creatures, according to a study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Now researchers believe this chemical, an antibody that is involved in the human stress response, may shed light on what makes some humans turn violent too. While more research is needed, scientists think that these findings could one day lead to a treatment for violent criminals.

“The implication was that this antibody, which differed between violent and nonviolent humans, […]