Gay DNA found

[aidanjm]

Gay DNA Found

by Steph Smith
365Gay.com
Chicago Bureau

January 28, 2005

(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.

©365Gay.com 2005

 

[alchemize]

Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

I agree, we do need to fix heterosexual men, & now we will finally be able to do something about their aggression, macho posturing, tendency to start wars, and of course their poor dress sense.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

I agree, we do need to fix heterosexual men, & now we will finally be able to do something about their aggression, macho posturing, tendency to start wars, and of course their poor dress sense.

How do you explain Ann Coulter?

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

You might be interested to know that females with gay male relatives have more children than females with heterosexual male relatives. It is possible the same genes that code for homosexuality in males are somehow responsible for greater fertility/ fecundity in females. This would explain how the trait remains in the population, it is actually advantageous (from an evolutionary perspective).

 

[phillyTIM]

*ROTFL*!!!!

 

[umbrella39]

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

God I do hope my sarc-O-meter is on the fritz today.

 

[Red Dawn]

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

If it involves stem cell research the Fund-A-Mental Cases and the Evang-A-Whacko Extremists would immediately drop their opposition to it.

 

[Ldir]

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

I hope not. I want more gay men. It means more women for the rest of us!

 

[BaliBabyDoc]

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

I agree, we do need to fix heterosexual men, & now we will finally be able to do something about their aggression, macho posturing, tendency to start wars, and of course their poor dress sense.

How do you explain Ann Coulter?

A cup, questionable Adam's apple, and curious facial features . . .


Sean Hannity and Ann Coulter fan site

 

[dmcowen674]

1-28-2005 Genetic regions influencing male sexual orientation identified

28 Jan 2005

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 heterosexual or gay

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."

=============================================================

I wonder what this will do with the Radical Religious Christain Right that is so Anti-Gay???

Doesn't this say that "God" has built in "Homosexuality" ???

They don't believe in Science and "Evolution" so this has to be Gods work. <shrugs>

Edit: Also this should give Gays the same "inalienable" rights as anyone else for marriage, health etc.
Wasn't the premise of the Christains that it was 110% Gay choice to be Gay and that was their reason for them being so against it???

 

[43st]

So much for pray out the gay...

 

[daniel1113]

365gay.com is now a valid news site? Is anyone else picking up this story?

 

[bamacre]

Originally posted by: Red Dawn

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

If it involves stem cell research the Fund-A-Mental Cases and the Evang-A-Whacko Extremists would immediately drop their opposition to it.

:laugh:

 

[JackStorm]

Originally posted by: daniel1113
365gay.com is now a valid news site? Is anyone else picking up this story?

Yeah, check Dave's post.

 

[Torghn]

There's a genetic disposition to violence, but you still have control of your actions.

 

[aidanjm]

Abstract

A genomewide scan of male sexual orientation

Brian S. Mustanski1, 2 , Michael G. DuPree1, 3, Caroline M. Nievergelt4, Sven Bocklandt1, 5, Nicholas J. Schork4 and Dean H. Hamer1
(1) Laboratory of Biochemistry, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, Md., USA
(2) Institute for Juvenile Research Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago (M/C 747), 1747 W. Roosevelt Road, Chicago, IL 60608, USA
(3) Department of Anthropology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pa., USA
(4) Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, Calif., USA
(5) Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, Los Angeles, Calif., USA

Received: 16 September 2004 Accepted: 30 November 2004 Published online: 12 January 2005
Abstract This is the first report of a full genome scan of sexual orientation in men. A sample of 456 individuals from 146 families with two or more gay brothers was genotyped with 403 microsatellite markers at 10-cM intervals. Given that previously reported evidence of maternal loading of transmission of sexual orientation could indicate epigenetic factors acting on autosomal genes, maximum likelihood estimations (mlod) scores were calculated separated for maternal, paternal, and combined transmission. The highest mlod score was 3.45 at a position near D7S798 in 7q36 with approximately equivalent maternal and paternal contributions. The second highest mlod score of 1.96 was located near D8S505 in 8p12, again with equal maternal and paternal contributions. A maternal origin effect was found near marker D10S217 in 10q26, with a mlod score of 1.81 for maternal meioses and no paternal contribution. We did not find linkage to Xq28 in the full sample, but given the previously reported evidence of linkage in this region, we conducted supplemental analyses to clarify these findings. First, we re-analyzed our previously reported data and found a mlod of 6.47. We then re-analyzed our current data, after limiting the sample to those families previously reported, and found a mlod of 1.99. These Xq28 findings are discussed in detail. The results of this first genome screen for normal variation in the behavioral trait of sexual orientation in males should encourage efforts to replicate these findings in new samples with denser linkage maps in the suggested regions.
Brian S. Mustanski and Michael G. DuPree contributed equally to this work.

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

I agree, we do need to fix heterosexual men, & now we will finally be able to do something about their aggression, macho posturing, tendency to start wars, and of course their poor dress sense.

How do you explain Ann Coulter?

sex change.

 

[miketheidiot]

Originally posted by: Torghn
There's a genetic disposition to violence, but you still have control of your actions.

:roll:

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: Torghn
There's a genetic disposition to violence, but you still have control of your actions.

What's the evidence there is a genetic predisposition to violence? I have not heard of such a thing.

A better analogy to my mind is handedness. Most of us have a predisposition to be left- or right-handed in tasks like writing or holding a spoon. It is possible to override this preference through force of will, however this serves no useful purpose and only leads to misery.

 

[Torghn]

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: Torghn
There's a genetic disposition to violence, but you still have control of your actions.

What's the evidence there is a genetic predisposition to violence? I have not heard of such a thing.

A better analogy to my mind is handedness. Most of us have a predisposition to be left- or right-handed in tasks like writing or holding a spoon. It is possible to override this preference through force of will, however this serves no useful purpose and only leads to misery.

From here:

Role of Genotype in the Cycle of Violence in Maltreated Children
Science v. 297, n.5582, 2aug02

Abstract

Avshalom Caspi,12 Joseph McClay,1 Terrie E. Moffitt,12* Jonathan Mill,1 Judy Martin,3 Ian W. Craig,1 Alan Taylor,1 Richie Poulton3

We studied a large sample of male children from birth to adulthood to determine why some children who are maltreated grow up to develop antisocial behavior, whereas others do not. A functional polymorphism in the gene encoding the neurotransmitter-metabolizing enzyme monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) was found to moderate the effect of maltreatment. Maltreated children with a genotype conferring high levels of MAOA expression were less likely to develop antisocial problems. These findings may partly explain why not all victims of maltreatment grow up to victimize others, and they provide epidemiological evidence that genotypes can moderate children's sensitivity to environmental insults.

There are hundreds of articles and studies out there, but they pretty much all agree that a behavioral genetic disposition is secondary to environmental effects.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

God I do hope my sarc-O-meter is on the fritz today.

Why? Don't you think that there will be some gays who want to be "cured"? Would you deny their rights?

Don't you think there will be parents, who given the choice for some genetic switch-flipping before birth, would not want their children to be gay? Would you deny their rights?

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: Torghn

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: Torghn
There's a genetic disposition to violence, but you still have control of your actions.

What's the evidence there is a genetic predisposition to violence? I have not heard of such a thing.

A better analogy to my mind is handedness. Most of us have a predisposition to be left- or right-handed in tasks like writing or holding a spoon. It is possible to override this preference through force of will, however this serves no useful purpose and only leads to misery.

From here:

Role of Genotype in the Cycle of Violence in Maltreated Children
Science v. 297, n.5582, 2aug02

Abstract

Avshalom Caspi,12 Joseph McClay,1 Terrie E. Moffitt,12* Jonathan Mill,1 Judy Martin,3 Ian W. Craig,1 Alan Taylor,1 Richie Poulton3

We studied a large sample of male children from birth to adulthood to determine why some children who are maltreated grow up to develop antisocial behavior, whereas others do not. A functional polymorphism in the gene encoding the neurotransmitter-metabolizing enzyme monoamine oxidase A (MAOA) was found to moderate the effect of maltreatment. Maltreated children with a genotype conferring high levels of MAOA expression were less likely to develop antisocial problems. These findings may partly explain why not all victims of maltreatment grow up to victimize others, and they provide epidemiological evidence that genotypes can moderate children's sensitivity to environmental insults.

There are hundreds of articles and studies out there, but they pretty much all agree that a behavioral genetic disposition is secondary to environmental effects.

So the maoa enzyme is providing a buffer against childhood stress, more so than specifically coding for violent or antisocial behavior. interesting.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

God I do hope my sarc-O-meter is on the fritz today.

Why? Don't you think that there will be some gays who want to be "cured"? Would you deny their rights?

Don't you think there will be parents, who given the choice for some genetic switch-flipping before birth, would not want their children to be gay? Would you deny their rights?

I wouldn't want to be heterosexual. Being attracted to other males has always felt entirely natural and appropriate for me. I feel bad for gay people who have been conned into thinking they are somehow ill or immoral or of less worth than a heterosexually oriented person.

 

[alchemize]

Originally posted by: aidanjm

Originally posted by: alchemize

Originally posted by: umbrella39

Originally posted by: alchemize
Well that's good news. Now a cure can be found.

God I do hope my sarc-O-meter is on the fritz today.

Why? Don't you think that there will be some gays who want to be "cured"? Would you deny their rights?

Don't you think there will be parents, who given the choice for some genetic switch-flipping before birth, would not want their children to be gay? Would you deny their rights?

I wouldn't want to be heterosexual. Being attracted to other males has always felt entirely natural and appropriate for me. I feel bad for gay people who have been conned into thinking they are somehow ill or immoral or of less worth than a heterosexually oriented person.

Certainly your perrogative - but do you speak for all gays? That was my question - would you deny the rights of those who don't want to remain gay? (or parents)