Scientists May Have Finally Unlocked Puzzle of Why People Are Gay

[Rockntractor]

By Jason Koebler
Scientists may have finally solved the puzzle of what makes a person gay, and how it is passed from parents to their children.

A group of scientists suggested Tuesday that homosexuals get that trait from their opposite-sex parents: A lesbian will almost always get the trait from her father, while a gay man will get the trait from his mother.



The hereditary link of homosexuality has long been established, but scientists knew it was not a strictly genetic link, because there are many pairs of identical twins who have differing sexualities. Scientists from the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis say homosexuality seems to have an epigenetic, not a genetic link.

Long thought to have some sort of hereditary link, a group of scientists suggested Tuesday that homosexuality is linked to epi-marks — extra layers of information that control how certain genes are expressed. These epi-marks are usually, but not always, "erased" between generations. In homosexuals, these epi-marks aren't erased — they're passed from father-to-daughter or mother-to-son, explains William Rice, an evolutionary biologist at the University of California Santa Barbara and lead author of the study.
Read More>http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/...people-are-gay

[Hawkgirl]

But you have the lipstick lesbians (not the butches) who don't act manly. You also have the manly gays who I believe they are referred to as the "tops" who don't act feminine.

Nova will be chiming in soon enough.

[noonwitch]

But you have the lipstick lesbians (not the butches) who don't act manly. You also have the manly gays who I believe they are referred to as the "tops" who don't act feminine.

Nova will be chiming in soon enough.

I thought "tops" was more of a BDSM term. I thought masculine gay men were called "bears".

[Hawkgirl]

I thought "tops" was more of a BDSM term. I thought masculine gay men were called "bears".

BDSM terms are Dom/sub.

You could be right about the Bears, though I've never heard that term.

[Novaheart]

Nova will be chiming in soon enough.

Nova finds this discussion rather tedious. Anyone who has known identical twins knows that they aren't identical. Clearly there is more to genetics than dots and dashes.

[marv]

I don't know about this whole thing.

Some years ago, the theory was that is was the thickness of the nerve cluster that connects the two halves of the brain. The cluster in men is thicker than in women. In male homosexuals, autopsies supposedly showed the thin cluster more consistent with women. Thus, it was determined that genetics was the base.

Now another theory has come up, and it still has a connection to genetics; at least with respect to epi-marks.

Here's another skeptic: http://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2012/...-tristero.html

"These epi-marks protect fathers and mothers from excess or underexposure to testosterone — when they carry over to opposite-sex offspring, it can cause the masculinization of females or the feminization of males," Rice says, which can lead to a child becoming gay. Rice notes that these markers are "highly variable" and that only strong epi-marks will result in a homosexual offspring.

I'm not buying this masculinization of females/feminizing of males stuff. I know far too many people of all genders and all sexual orientations who don't fit the stereotypes.

Not saying that there isn't a heritable component to sexual preference and gender identity, just saying that the way this is reported sounds way too schematic to be believable.

Also, the reporter, if not the researchers, thoroughly confuse gender identity (male/female) with sexual preference (choice of gender in a sexual partner). The two are not necessarily paired together. Furthermore, both male/female gender identity and gay/straight preferences are false dichotomies: both are continuums. Both identity and preference can be quite fluid.

Try again.

This, like so many other scientific theories yet to be proved should be moved from the "...finally..." to the "...maybe..." category.

Just sayin'........

[Rockntractor]

It could be a stupid gene that causes the homosexuality, but in half the population it only turns into liberalism, Nova hit the lotto on stupid genes.

[Novaheart]

It could be a stupid gene that causes the homosexuality, but in half the population it only turns into liberalism, Nova hit the lotto on stupid genes.

You were the one who thought the laser would blow up the moon.

[Novaheart]

BDSM terms are Dom/sub.

You could be right about the Bears, though I've never heard that term.

Bear can mean a robust and hirsute man, or it can mean a fat guy who isn't planning on taking up rabbit food and pilates.

[Starbuck]

You were the one who thought the laser would blow up the moon.

And it would have if the Klingons hadn't had their spy set it to "Stun" while we weren't looking. Now we gotta start all over with a new batch of dilithium crystals, and then LOOK OUT MOON!