New scientific theory: What makes people gay
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…
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.
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Fluoride in the Water./
portlandon on December 12, 2012 at 12:06 PM
Kulats.
bigmacdaddy on December 12, 2012 at 12:08 PM
Sadly, this theory is nothing more than speculation with no data to support it. I do believe we will find a cure, but this theory is just a couple guys BSing.
Ted Torgerson on December 12, 2012 at 12:09 PM
What nonsense, gobbledegook to cover up the fact that homosexuality is a choice, there is no “gay gene”.
Rebar on December 12, 2012 at 12:11 PM
The U.S. Department of Education?
Pork-Chop on December 12, 2012 at 12:12 PM
Michelle Obama.
The Rogue Tomato on December 12, 2012 at 12:13 PM
Knew it was genetic all along – just common sense I would think. I am hetero, but never “chose” to be – follow the logic. But this explains why homosexuality is so prevelant in spite of less reproduction.
michaelthomas on December 12, 2012 at 12:13 PM
^This. More junk science.
The Rogue Tomato on December 12, 2012 at 12:14 PM
It’s barely even a theory. It’s more a wish. What this desperate need to find that homosexuality is genetic somehow is I don’t understand. No sexual preferences are genetic. People are no more born gay than they are born straight. Is the guy who was arrested trying to screw a patio table born that way? Are sadomasochists born that way?
Rocks on December 12, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Are we talking humans or animals?
Oil Can on December 12, 2012 at 12:15 PM
Sweet, now we just get a virus made up to alter these and all better!
astonerii on December 12, 2012 at 12:16 PM
michaelthomas – the whole point of the article was that it’s NOT genetic (as the gene hardly ever would get passed on) but rather epi-genetic. And this is not supported by any data just speculation.
jdpaz on December 12, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Why do 95% of them lisp?
And at what age do they start lisping?
Blake on December 12, 2012 at 12:18 PM
Leftist politics will keep a cure from being developed. The gays are far more useful to the Dems as they are and the Dems are masters at keeping people down and blocked from their full potential.
HotAirian on December 12, 2012 at 12:18 PM
It is not genetic, but it is hereditary, according to this theory. There are parts of chromosomes that are not DNA called epi-marks that are passed on to children occasionally, father to daughter and mother to son. The epi-marks lead to feminized boys and masculinized girls.
Ted Torgerson on December 12, 2012 at 12:20 PM
I thought it was soy.
/
Nick_Angel on December 12, 2012 at 12:20 PM
Correct, there is a deficiency in the hetero biology, which stems from a genetic mutation.
Did you choose to be straight? No? Hmmm….wouldn’t that mean you are genetically heterosexual? (for the record, no I’m not gay – I am hetero – glad for it, but never chose it, it’s genetic)
michaelthomas on December 12, 2012 at 12:20 PM
Genetic, hereditary, SAME THING….please
michaelthomas on December 12, 2012 at 12:22 PM
Here come the guys who spend inordinate amounts of time thinking about gay men. Remember folks, they’re not gay. They imagine gay-sex and are disgusted by it so much that they devote hours, days and years to pondering its effects. The demonstrated-dedication is fabulous.
whereas your statement is a font of empirical data
Capitalist Hog on December 12, 2012 at 12:23 PM
Rocks: If sexuality were a matter of choice, then given the number of men who dislike women and women who dislike men, I’d guess there’d be more gays and lesbians than there are Democrats.
Seth Halpern on December 12, 2012 at 12:23 PM
if it influences how genes are “expressed”, then it’s genetic, it’s how they were naturally born, it was not a choice. SAME THING
michaelthomas on December 12, 2012 at 12:23 PM
OK. We give up.
Tell us.
Capitalist Hog on December 12, 2012 at 12:24 PM
It’s genetic eh? I’m sure all the guys getting raped in prison will be relieved to find out their rapists were born that way. Funny how they rape women when they aren’t in prison though.
Rocks on December 12, 2012 at 12:24 PM
Ace Rimmer
29Victor on December 12, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Some of you cats really are ignant.
It makes perfect sense, and more than likely to turn out to be correct.
It’s not “genetic”, it’s a change on the next embryonic level.
As I’ve said over and over now, studies like these are game-changers for both sides.
Do you understand how dangerous abortion is now to the gay community?
If it was genetic, parents could do very little.
But this? This leads to a test offered by the OB, where they can monitor testosterone levels.
I have no problem with gay people. Never have. I would never want to see a group of people biochemically erased.
But I have serious problems with their advocates, straight and gay, because they have no interest in biology while claiming being progressive is all about reason and science.
budfox on December 12, 2012 at 12:25 PM
Rebar, well said. Thats the crux of it. This article translates into: Why the hell can’t we find the gay gene? Ok, lets digress and give excuses, especially vague hypothesis.
tommy71 on December 12, 2012 at 12:25 PM
In other words, some girls get masculine traits, and some boys get feminine ones. Masculine women and feminine men are more likely to become gay compared to the general population. So what?
This isn’t an argument that homosexuality is even a tiny bit genetic. It is, in fact, an argument that homosexuality is not at all genetic.
It’s like saying that a child born with a lisp is more likely to become gay.
kaltes on December 12, 2012 at 12:26 PM
Moron sounds off again!
John the Libertarian on December 12, 2012 at 12:26 PM
The word choice is being misused. People tend to associate that with a conscious thought. Like almost everything about they way humans behave it’s a product of environment and many, many subconscious choices made over time.
Rocks on December 12, 2012 at 12:29 PM
Who knows, but there they are.
Schadenfreude on December 12, 2012 at 12:31 PM
It’s the next level up.
Genetic in the sense that the epimarks are inherited from the parents.
Biochemical in that they’re saying testosterone levels influence the epimarks.
It’s not Tay-Sachs or anything that occurs in the latter stages.
budfox on December 12, 2012 at 12:31 PM
Not the same thing because it may be easier to strip these epi-marks from chromosomes at conception or at the right point in fetal development. We know this already happens in nature. That is why there are identical twins with one normal and one homosexual.
I was not criticizing the theory, only pointing out that it had not been tested. The scientists freely admit that, and offered an idea of how the theory might be tested.
Ted Torgerson on December 12, 2012 at 12:32 PM
We insist sexuality is not genetic, thump our bibles, and insist that pot not be legalalized. And so we continue to isolate ourselve’s politically. None of these things are important in the public square. $16 Trillion of debt is what is important.
michaelthomas on December 12, 2012 at 12:33 PM
Well, that’s horseshite.
Social issues matter more to the progs that anything else.
It’s how they f’ing won.
budfox on December 12, 2012 at 12:35 PM
This phrase by itself in the article is enough to reveal its bias and use of propaganda.
Homosexuality is a behavior.
INC on December 12, 2012 at 12:38 PM
Dear gawd, that’s not even what this article is saying.
Reading this, I’m reminded of Dr. Watson (of Watson & Crick DNA fame), Nobel Prize winner…who infamously stated that blacks were genetically inferior to whites. And the guy is as “expert” in that field as one can possibly be…but that doesn’t automatically make him right.
And it’s the same thing with this.
I make no claim in knowing what causes a person to be gay. I haven’t a clue. But as one, and most gays agree, I’ve known since puberty kicked in…at least. Not to mention, I had about the most normal upbringing a suburban-raised kid could have…if there’s a stereotypical middle class suburban family life, mine was spot on. And yet, I’m teh ghey. And my story is nowhere near exceptional in this regard.
Remember…the “experts” at one time said the Earth was flat, or was the center of the universe after that. And lo…
Time will tell what causes “teh ghey”…The two best chances are genetics or something happening in the womb with estrogen levels or something (when a woman is carrying a baby boy, her womb does release extra estrogen as it sees a male fetus as threat to her system).
Again, I don’t know what the cause is…but I would put my own life on the line right now and say with absolute certainty it’s nature, not nurture.
JetBoy on December 12, 2012 at 12:38 PM
Absolutely.
I’ll also add that attacking the country on social issues leads to the kind of mindset of irresponsibility and entitlement that begets a nation in debt.
INC on December 12, 2012 at 12:40 PM
In the article they admit that there isn’t the slightest evidence that homosexuality is genetic. It’s all waving-hands-in-the-air wishful thinking.
But I’m the moron.
Rebar on December 12, 2012 at 12:40 PM
I think they’re saying the epimarks influence the testosterone levels.
If gayness is all about hormones, then you could “cure” it easily with hormone therapy. Methinks you can’t turn a gay man straight with testosterone injections.
The Rogue Tomato on December 12, 2012 at 12:40 PM
Blake seems to suggest that he was not born with his. I’m waiting for him to give us the answer to his clever riddle.
I’m not an expert on gays or linguistics. So I’ll defer to the experts.
For business owners or others learning Spanish, I do recommend you study North American vs European unless you prefer speaking with a lisp.
Capitalist Hog on December 12, 2012 at 12:44 PM
I am not of the ghey but everything you said squares with the homosexuals I know. It is as much a lifestyle choice for them as women are for heterosexual males.
Heterosexual men are wired to want women – it isn’t some kind of moral stand and you can’t cure it either.
CorporatePiggy on December 12, 2012 at 12:44 PM
I don’t understand why it needs to be either/or. Why can’t some people behave homosexually due to some biological difference and some do it by choice? The desire to belong to a group is strong. And being ‘different’ in a conforming way is also a desire in many. I guess it’s not politically expedient to gay “equality” advocates to consider a spectrum of variables could lead one to homosexual behavior. Plus gays would want to know if their buddy was ‘true’ gay or ‘faux’ gay and want to check their midichlorian count. Midichlorians being the gayest idea George Lucas had after Jar Jar.
MechanicalBill on December 12, 2012 at 12:47 PM
Yeah. Uh-huh.
Keep searching for a “cure” anti-gay bigot.
Capitalist Hog on December 12, 2012 at 12:48 PM
Incorrect, homosexuality has been cured in individuals who sought treatment.
Rebar on December 12, 2012 at 12:49 PM
Rebar, you are absolutely right. They just can’t find the ‘gay’ gene. Period. The truth always hurts.
tommy71 on December 12, 2012 at 12:50 PM
I thought epimarks came from misusing an Epilady. Ouch.
vcferlita on December 12, 2012 at 12:51 PM
Exactly.
This is where gay-rights advocates fail. The “why would anybody choose to be gay” refrain is useless. There is no option box that goes unchecked when presented to the general public.
I’ve expressed my utter-shock that people choose to eat at Olive Gardens Restaurant.
Capitalist Hog on December 12, 2012 at 12:52 PM
Men are genetically “wired” to be with women, period. Just check the plumbing.
Anything else (men with men, men with goats, whatever) is a deviation from our design, for whatever reason it may be — moral, environmental, or pseudo-genetic.
The Rogue Tomato on December 12, 2012 at 12:52 PM
FAIL!
Capitalist Hog on December 12, 2012 at 12:57 PM
There are holes all over the body. Pipefitting is not rocket-science.
Capitalist Hog on December 12, 2012 at 12:58 PM
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