No gay gene study
No single 'gay gene', reveals the largest-ever study of the genetics of queer sexual behaviour
Scientists have again debunked the idea of a single "gay gene", in the largest research to date of the genetics of same-sex sexual behaviour.
Key points:
- Researchers scanned the human genome for genetic markers associated with gay sexual behaviour
- Many genes alter a person's likelihood of having had same-sex partners, but they have only a small effect on behaviour
- Some people question whether the benefits of this type of research outweigh the potential dangers
Rather, their findings paint a diverse and complex picture of human sexuality, and the genetic factors that shape it.
Nearly half a million people took part in the study, mostly from the United Kingdom and the United States, which was published in the journal Science today.
While we've known from previous twin and family studies that our sexual preferences are influenced by our genes, it's been difficult for scientists to pinpoint whether any specific genetic markers could play a role.
While most previous studies own involved only a not many hundred or a not many thousand partic
Study Finds No 'Gay Gene,' But Some Question Whether The Search Should Possess Started At All
The most important finding of the large recent study, says Benjamin Neale, a geneticist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University, “is there is no single queer gene.”
Neale and a team of researchers, who published their results in the journal Science on Thursday, scanned the genomes of roughly half a million people for differences that might create the genetic foundation for same-sex sexual behavior.
Neale says their findings confirmed something that researchers had long believed: Sexual behavior is a trait like most human characteristics such as height, skin tone, intelligence and personality.
All of these traits arise from an ensemble of thousands of genes, each exerting a minute influence on the individual, and the “environment,” a vague catch-all term for anything that’s not genetic. This can add a person's social circle, where a person grew up, and things that may have happened in the womb.
The study isn’t the first time scientists have searched for a biological underpinning for same-sex sexual habit, though this line of research has always generated controve
No single gene can predict an individual’s sexual orientation
Prior research has shown that genetics is partly emotionally attached in sexual orientation but not been able to identify specific involved genes. The current study involving more than 490,000 participants found five genetic variants that were more frequent in subjects who reported having had same-sex sexual partners. Two of the genetic variants occurred in both males and females while two were only identified in men and another only in women. This suggests that the sexual preferences of men and women are influenced by partly different genetic signals. Altogether, measured genetic variants had limited impact on sexual preference, between 8 to 25 percent, according to the study.
The researchers emphasize that although certain genetic variants endure out on the team level, genetics cannot be used to predict an individual’s sexual preference and that different environmental and sociocultural factors also engage a role.
No ‘gay gene’
“The study clearly shows that there is no so-called ‘gay gene,’ but rather, as in many complex human behaviors, many genetic variants are involved that each has a very weak effect but together do have
Massive study concludes that there is no 'gay gene'
The largest study to meet on the genetic basis of sexuality has revealed five spots on the human genome that are linked to same-sex sexual behaviour – but none of the markers are reliable enough to predict someone’s sexuality.
The findings, based on the genomes of nearly 500,000 people, shore up the results of earlier, smaller studies and confirm the suspicions of many scientists: while sexual preferences have a genetic component, no single gene has a large consequence on sexual behaviours.
“There is no ‘gay gene’,” says lead study author Andrea Ganna, a geneticist at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Ganna and his colleagues also used the analysis to estimate that up to 25% of sexual behaviour can be explained by genetics, with the remain influenced by environmental and cultural factors – a figure similar to the findings of smaller studies.
“This is a solid study,” says Melinda Mills, a sociologist at the University of Oxford,UK, who studies the genetic basis of reproductive behaviours. But she cautions that the results may not be model of the overall population – a
Massive Study Finds No Single Genetic Bring about of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior
Few aspects of human biology are as complex—or politically fraught—as sexual orientation. A clear genetic link would present that gay people are “born this way,” as opposed to having made a lifestyle decision. Yet some dread that such a finding could be misused to “cure” homosexuality, and most research teams contain shied away from tackling the topic.
Now a new analyze claims to dispel the notion that a single gene or handful of genes make a person prone to same-sex behavior. The analysis, which examined the genomes of nearly half a million men and women, found that although genetics are certainly involved in who people opt to have sex with, there are no specific genetic predictors. Yet some researchers question whether the analysis, which looked at genes associated with sexual activity rather than attraction, can sketch any real conclusions about sexual orientation.
“The message should continue 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