Doctors prove people can be born gay or lesbian

What do we know

In the new study, a team led by Brendan Zietsch of the University of Queensland, Australia, mined several massive genome data banks, including that of 23andMe and the UK Biobank 23andMe did not fund the research. The rest was presumably a result of environmental or other biological influences.

By purchasing a subscription you are helping to ensure the future of impactful stories about the discoveries and ideas shaping our world today. Two of these genetic markers sit close to genes linked to sex hormones and to smell—both factors that may play a role in sexual attraction.

The study will not be the last word on the vexing question of what causes homosexuality, however.

There rsquo s Still

The analysis, which examined the genomes of nearly half a million men and women, found that although genetics are certainly involved in who people choose to have sex with, there are no specific genetic predictors. The legislative push has overwhelmingly targeted trans people and drag performances, topics that are at best indirectly connected to the focus of the GWAS — though open discussion of gay and lesbian relationships has been one of the targets of book bans and repressive new public school policies.

They asked more thanparticipants whether they had ever had sex with someone of the same sex, and also questions about sexual fantasies and the degree to which they identified as gay or straight. Hamer says that the findings do not reveal any biological pathways for sexual orientation.

The handful of genetic studies conducted in the past few decades have looked at only a few hundred individuals at most—and almost exclusively men. There is no single gene responsible for a person being gay or a lesbian. There is indeed compelling evidence that the brains of gay or straight people have a different organization.

Despite the associations, the authors say that the genetic similarities still cannot show whether a given individual is gay. Yet some researchers question whether the analysis, which looked at genes associated with sexual activity rather than attraction, can draw any real conclusions about sexual orientation.

If you're enjoying this article, consider supporting our award-winning journalism by subscribing. Rice and Vilain agree that the conclusion is unclear. His study, which analyzed the genomes of 40 pairs of gay brothers, looked exclusively at people who identified as homosexual.

The scientific consensus on being "born gay" reveals a complex, multifaceted picture that challenges simplistic explanations while supporting biological foundations for sexual orientation. In geneticist Dean Hamer of the U. But Hamer, now retired, disagrees.

Classic work in this area has already suggested that patterns of amygdala connectivity and other features of brain structure in homosexual men are more similar to those of heterosexual women, while lesbian women display more male‐like.

When the researchers looked at the overall genetic similarity of individuals who had had a same-sex experience, genetics seemed to account for between 8 and 25 percent of the behavior. The findings were published August 30,in Science.

A massive study of half a million people finds no single gene behind sexual orientation, adding more evidence that there is no “gay gene”. Now a new study claims to dispel the notion that a single gene or handful of genes make a person prone to same-sex behavior.

The researchers found five single points in the genome that seemed to be common among people who had had at least one same-sex experience. Other studies have linked sexual orientation with environmental factors such as hormone exposure before birth and having older brothers.

Few aspects of human biology are as complex—or politically fraught—as sexual orientation. But taken together, these five markers explained less than 1 percent of the differences in sexual activity among people in the study. By Sara Reardon. Controversial results released in suggested a genetic link between bisexuality and risk-takingbut many researchers found flaws in the methodology.

That’s the first thing you need to know about the largest genetic investigation of sexuality ever, which was published. The research has limitations: almost all of the participants were from the U. Still, researchers welcome the data.

He sees the new paper as an analysis of risky behavior or openness to experience, noting that participants who engaged in at least one same-sex experience were also more likely to report having smoked marijuana and having more sexual partners overall.