Nature Vs. Nurture, Another Clue!

[ProThaiExpat]

Interesting but far from convincing!! Forty years from now, we may know, but by then, gays will have assimilated into society in western countries so well that parents might not bother to cut out this gene, if genetic engineering ever gets to first base, that is.!!

"(Chicago, Illinois) In the first-ever study combing the entire human genome for genetic determinants of male sexual orientation, a University of Illinois at Chicago researcher has identified several areas that appear to influence whether a man is straight or gay.

UIC's Brian Mustanski, working with colleagues at the National Institutes of Health, found stretches of DNA that appeared to be linked to sexual orientation on three different chromosomes in the nucleus of cells of the human male.

"There is no one 'gay' gene," said Mustanski, a psychologist in the UIC department of psychiatry and lead author of the study. "Sexual orientation is a complex trait, so it's not surprising that we found several DNA regions involved in its expression."

"Our best guess is that multiple genes, potentially interacting with environmental influences, explain differences in sexual orientation."

His research will be published in the March issue of the biomedical journal Human Genetics.

The genomes of 456 men from 146 families with two or more gay brothers were analyzed.

While earlier studies had focused solely on the X chromosome, one of the two sex chromosomes, the present study examined all 22 pairs of non-sex chromosomes in addition to the X chromosome. The other sex chromosome, called Y, was not explored because it is not believed to contain many genes.

Identical stretches of DNA on three chromosomes -- chromosomes 7, 8 and 10 -- were found to be shared in about 60 percent of the gay brothers in the study, compared to about 50 percent expected by chance. The region on chromosome 10 correlated with sexual orientation only if it was inherited from the mother.

"Our study helps to establish that genes play an important role in determining whether a man is gay or heterosexual," said Mustanski. "The next steps will be to see if these findings can be confirmed and to identify the particular genes within these newly discovered chromosomal sequences that are linked to sexual orientation."

The University of California at San Diego, Pennsylvania State University, and the University of California at Los Angeles were also involved in the study which was supported in part by grants from the National Science Foundation and the National Institutes of Health.

Edited January 30, 2005 by ChrisP

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

I don't agree with this Deterministic approach. A mechanistic explanation to Gayer pathology is far more rational.

[Ijustwannateach]

Excellent post, Xpatpro! The advantage of the mixed genetic/environmental provenence of sexuality is that none of the homophobic idiots can isolate a gay "gene" for the purposes of elimination, nor find a foolproof "non-gay" way of raising children.

"Steven"

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

Presoooomably - if it WERE genetic,

...then the fact that gay folk do not reproduce would ....ultimately lead to the gene self-liquidating - i.e natural selection.

Yet, this is not the case - as evidenced in-part by the existence of this Sub-Forum

[The_Moog]

Ravisher - what are you doing on this Forum !

I don't think gayers would appreciate being called 'abnormalities'.

Any road up, there are far too many gay people for it to be a glitch or abnormality. That points to evolution/genetics being less of a factor here.

Its environmental ain't it?!

[ProThaiExpat]

...then the fact that gay folk do not reproduce would ....ultimately lead to the gene self-liquidating - i.e  natural selection.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Tell my daughter that gays don't reproduce, it woud sure be news to her!!!

If in fact there is a gay gene, it would seem to me that there must be a number of factors that would make it recessive or dominant from generation to generation as there isn't any studies, I am aware of, that suggests homosexuality is more predominant in some families than in others.

[PvtDick]

Intolerance of gays leads to the propagation of the gay gene/genes. I wonder why bigots don't recognize this? By promoting intolerance, more gays are influenced to lead a closeted life, many living a lie, getting married, and having kids. The more tolerance in society, the freer young men and women would feel living their lives as nature made them...in other words, no reproduction/genetic propagation.

[ChrisP]

Post #2 from "The Eye of Sauron..

I'm being generous... I honestly don't think you mean to use the word "pathology".. do you..?

"Pathology".. meaning the scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences..

Being Gay is not a disease.

ChrisP

[PvtDick]

Agreed. No more a "disease" than left-handedness, double-jointedness, or any of the other minority traits that together make up the variety of human existence.

[Deadcert]

As I have always thought its all in the jeans ....

[The_Eye_Of_Sauron]

I'm being generous... I honestly don't think you mean to use the word "pathology".. do you..?

"Pathology".. meaning the scientific study of the nature of disease and its causes, processes, development, and consequences..

I got this turn of phrase from 'Silence of the Lambs' where Hannibal refers to Buffalo Bill's 'pathology' - which in the context of his dialogue there meant the intricacies of his mind.

[ChrisP]

^ Ahh... I just KNEW I'd heard it in a movie somewhere!

You're right.. now I remember.

ChrisP