Gay chromosome
Massive Study Finds No Free Genetic Cause of Queer Sexual Behavior
Few aspects of human biology are as complex—or politically fraught—as sexual orientation. A clear genetic link would suggest that gay people are “born this way,” as opposed to having made a lifestyle choice. Yet some fear that such a finding could be misused to “cure” homosexuality, and most research teams possess shied away from tackling the topic.
Now a novel study claims to dispel the notion that a single gene or handful of genes make a person prone to queer behavior. The analysis, which examined the genomes of nearly half a million men and women, create that although genetics are certainly involved in who people choose to contain sex with, there are no specific genetic predictors. Yet some researchers ask whether the analysis, which looked at genes related with sexual activity rather than attraction, can trace any real conclusions about sexual orientation.
“The message should remain the same that this is a complex behavior that genetics definitely plays a part in,” said study co-author Fah Sathirapongsasuti, a computational biologist at genetic testin
Across cultures, 2% to 10% of people report having same-sex relations. In the U.S., 1% to 2.2% of women and men, respectively, identify as lgbtq+. Despite these numbers, many people still consider queer behavior to be an anomalous choice. However, biologists have documented homosexual conduct in more than 450 species, arguing that lgbtq+ behavior is not an unnatural choice, and may in fact play a vital role within populations.
In a 2019 issue of Science magazine, geneticist Andrea Ganna at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and colleagues, described the largest survey to date for genes connected with same-sex behavior. By analyzing the DNA of nearly half a million people from the U.S. and the U.K., they concluded that genes account for between 8% and 25% of same-sex action.
Numerous studies have established that sex is not just male or female. Rather, it is a continuum that emerges from a person’s genetic makeup. Nonetheless, misconceptions persist that same-sex attraction is a choice that warrants condemnation or conversion, and leads to discrimination and persecution.
I am a molecular biologist and am interested in this new study as it further illuminates the
No single gene related with being gay
A genetic investigation of almost half a million people has concluded there is no solo "gay gene".
The learn, published in Science, used data from the UK Biobank and 23andMe, and found some genetic variants associated with same-sex relationships.
But genetic factors accounted for, at most, 25% of same-sex behaviour.
Advocacy group GLAAD said the study confirmed "no conclusive degree to which essence or nurture influenced how a queer or lesbian person behaves."
The researchers scanned the genomes - the entire genetic make-up - of 409,000 people signed up to the UK Biobank plan, and 68,500 registered with the genetics company 23andMe.
Participants were also asked whether they had homosexual partners exclusively, or as well as opposite-sex partners.
The Harvard and MIT researchers concluded genetics could account for between 8-25% of gay behaviour across the population, when the whole genome is considered.
Five specific genetic variants were create to be particularly associated with queer behaviour, including one linked to the biological pathway for smell, and others to those f
Mom's Genetics Could Produce Homosexual Sons
The arrangement of a mother's genes could change the sexual orientation of her son, according to a new study.
The discovery, detailed in the February issue of the journal Human Genetics, adds fuel to the decade-long debate about whether so-called "gay genes" might exist.
The researchers examined a phenomenon called "X chromosome inactivation" in 97 mothers of queer sons and 103 mothers whose sons were not gay.
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Chromosomes are large thread-like molecules that contain an organism's genetic instructions. Humans have 23 chromosome pairs. The X chromosome is one of two sex chromosomes in mammals; the other is the Y chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and no Y's, while males have one X and one Y.
Even though women have two X chromosomes, only one is functional because the other is inactivated through a process called "methylation."
"It gets wrapped up in a ball and is not used with the exception of a few genes," explained study leader Sven Bocklandt of the University of California, Los Angeles.
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If one of the females' X chrom
A single 'gay gene'? Doesn't exist, says science
'Born this way'? Possibly, but there's no single gene to determine sexual orientation, a recent study reveals
Image source: Unsplash/Levi Saunders
News • Sexual orientation & DNA
Genes alone cannot be used to determine an individual’s sexual orientation. A new study set up only five out of hundreds of thousands genetic variants occurred somewhat more often in people who had had same-sex partners. This suggests human sexuality is influenced by a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors, according to the researchers.
The study, which has been published in the journal Science, is based on data from the UK Biobank, the U.S. company 23andMe and the Swedish Twin Registry at Karolinska Institutet.
Prior explore has shown that genetics is partly involved in sexual orientation but not been able to identify specific emotionally attached genes. The current study involving more than 490,000 participants found five genetic variants that were more common in subjects who reported having had gay sexual partners. Two of the genetic variants occurred in both males and females while two were only identified in men and another