Flashermac Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 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. "There is compelling evidence that epi-marks contribute to both the similarity and dissimilarity of family members, and can therefore feasibly contribute to the observed familial inheritance of homosexuality and its low concordance between [identical] twins," Rice notes. Rice and his team created a mathematical model that explains why homosexuality is passed through epi-marks, not genetics. Evolutionarily speaking, if homosexuality was solely a genetic trait, scientists would expect the trait to eventually disappear because homosexuals wouldn't be expected to reproduce. But because these epi-marks provide an evolutionary advantage for the parents of homosexuals: They protect fathers of homosexuals from underexposure to testosterone and mothers of homosexuals from overexposure to testosterone while they are in gestation. "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. Though scientists have long suspected some sort of genetic link, Rice says studies attempting to explain why people are gay have been few and far between. "Most mainstream biologists have shied away from studying it because of the social stigma," he says. "It's been swept under the rug, people are still stuck on this idea that it's unnatural. Well there are many examples of homosexuality in nature, it's very common." Homosexual behavior has been observed in black swans, penguins, sheep, and other animals, he says. Rice's model still needs to be tested on real-life parent-offspring pairs, but he says this epigenetic link makes more sense than any other explanation, and that his team has mapped out a way for other scientists to test their work. "We've found a story that looks really good," he says. "There's more verification needed, but we point out how we can easily do epigenetic profiles genome-wide. We predict where the epi-marks occur, we just need other studies to look at it empirically. This can be tested and proven within six months. It's easy to test. If it's a bad idea, we can throw it away in short order." http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/12/11/scientists-may-have-finally-unlocked-puzzle-of-why-people-are-gay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coss Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 Not sure I understand "They protect fathers of homosexuals from underexposure to testosterone" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gobbledonk Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 I've met gay men who I wouldnt describe as 'feminine', although I admit the stereotype of lesbians as being 'masculine' does seem to hold true in my experience. Maybe I just need to get out more often ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wallenda Posted December 12, 2012 Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 I've met gay men who I wouldnt describe as 'feminine', although I admit the stereotype of lesbians as being 'masculine' does seem to hold true in my experience. Maybe I just need to get out more often ..... I've met some lesbians who were very feminine, you would never guess they were. No boyish qualities whatsoever. The same way you wouldn't guess that Rock Hudson was gay but you would guess David Bowie was. You could spot Bowie and think you know what they look like, never realizing that the Rock types were too, so you'd actually be oblivious to a large proportion of the gays around you, falsely confident you know what they look like, when you just know what the obvious ones look like. Homosexual behavior in animals is normal, as any pet owner knows. What's rare in animals is to be exclusively homosexual-- which makes it strange that it would be so in humans. Most animals' sexual behavior would be categorized as bisexual if it was humans doing it. Mongoamy isn't too common in animals either. Evolutionarily speaking, it doesn't add up that humans would suddenly be the only ape species that has a totally different makeup when it comes to homosexuality. Kinsey's finding was that it's inherent in all of us but to different degrees. BTW, has anyone ever heard of the "National Institute of Mathematical and Biological Synthesis" ? Just sayin. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted December 12, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 12, 2012 I have a gay colleague whom you'd never take to be gay. The girls are always crazy about him, but he says he knew when he was 9 years old that he was gay. He also says he cannot tell who is gay just to look at them. We took him to Nana Plaza once just to show him the nightlife, and the BGs were all over the guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
unit731 Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Interesting documentary on tele a few years back. One study just looked at identical twins. Long term. One was gay one was not in these groups of twins studied. What explains this one? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Interesting documentary on tele a few years back. One study just looked at identical twins. Long term. One was gay one was not in these groups of twins studied. What explains this one? Interesting question, my twin is gay (nothing against that) where as I am not, the difference between us is that she is Female and I am Male. She has lived in South America for over 20 years now and to be honest she has made me jealous with a couple of her girlfriends, farkin' hot chicks. I used to be very Homophobic in the past where as now I don't care whatever anyone gets up to in private, it's got nothing to do with me I have learned to accept each to their own attitude as long as they do not affect my life. Some of the best political discussions I have had in Thailand have been with Gay or Transgendered, this ties in with KS thread "Are Thai's Childish" for some strange reason the GLTG community of Thailand have often appeared to be more mature than their respective Brothers and Sisters, maybe Flash has something to say on this being involved in education. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flashermac Posted December 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 I don't believe there is any one explanation as to why a person is gay. It has to be a combination of many factors. The problem with saying it is genetic is how to explain bisexuals. No one seems to think of that. Kong, I don't know if I would make a blanket statement that gays are more mature, but khatoeys do often seem to be more intelligent than usual - at least as far as language learning. And large percent of male English majors are gay, at least half. The same holds true for the male English teachers / lecturers. Plenty of gays in the faculties I've taught in. And the gay guys do love to come to Thailand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mekong Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 OK Flash, I will rephrase my comment that Gays and Katoeys come across as more intelligent / less childish than your average Thai, maybe because of their language skills. Again this is just a generalization and there are many exceptions to the rule but this is just my limited exposure to the locals. For the record my GF did not want to study law but because of the family being heavily Kao Lang Wan needed a family lawyer and she was the chosen one, I am fully aware of "Keep it in the Family" traditions Thailand actually makes areas of Italy or NYC appear tame by comparison, everyday i learn something new about Thailand and long may it continue until I have to leave, fascinating country. Kong Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redbaron Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Interesting question, my twin is gay (nothing against that) where as I am not, the difference between us is that she is Female and I am Male. Which would imply you are not identical twins, therefore were born from two separate eggs, the same as if you were born years apart, rather than one egg which split in two. I'd say it's just "one of those things" - you are either attracted to the opposite sex, same sex, or both. The same reason one would be more inclined to support a certain football team even if the family supports another one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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