What does science know about homosexuality is it a defect
Massive Study Finds No Single Genetic Generate of Same-Sex Sexual Behavior
Few aspects of human biology are as complex—or politically fraught—as sexual orientation. A clear genetic link would present that gay people are “born this way,” as opposed to having made a lifestyle selection. Yet some horror that such a finding could be misused to “cure” homosexuality, and most research teams hold shied away from tackling the topic.
Now a new analyze claims to dispel the notion that a single gene or handful of genes make a person prone to same-sex behavior. The analysis, which examined the genomes of nearly half a million men and women, found that although genetics are certainly involved in who people prefer to have sex with, there are no specific genetic predictors. Yet some researchers question whether the analysis, which looked at genes associated with sexual activity rather than attraction, can trace any real conclusions about sexual orientation.
“The message should persist the same that this is a complex behavior that genetics definitely plays a part in,” said study co-author Fah Sathirapongsasuti, a computational biologist at genetic testin
Across cultures, 2% to 10% of people report having lgbtq+ relations. In the U.S., 1% to 2.2% of women and men, respectively, identify as homosexual. Despite these numbers, many people still consider homosexual conduct to be an anomalous choice. However, biologists have documented homosexual behavior in more than 450 species, arguing that same-sex behavior is not an unnatural choice, and may in fact participate a vital role within populations.
In a 2019 issue of Science magazine, geneticist Andrea Ganna at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and colleagues, described the largest survey to meeting for genes paired with same-sex conduct. By analyzing the DNA of nearly half a million people from the U.S. and the U.K., they concluded that genes account for between 8% and 25% of same-sex behavior.
Numerous studies have established that sex is not just male or female. Rather, it is a continuum that emerges from a person’s genetic makeup. Nonetheless, misconceptions persist that same-sex attraction is a choice that warrants condemnation or conversion, and leads to discrimination and persecution.
I am a molecular biologist and am interested in this new research as it further illuminates the
Nature vs. Nurture: The Biology of Sexuality
MED prof speaks tonight on whether sexual orientation has genetic basis
Homosexuality was considered a mental illness when Richard Pillard was in medical school. It was the 1950s and the University of Medicine professor of psychiatry was at the University of Rochester. At the time, the American Psychological Association still listed homosexuality as a disorder and psychologists and psychiatrists were trained on ways to treat it.
The first psychological test undertaken to determine whether there was a biological explanation for homosexuality was in 1957. With a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, Karen Hooker studied the relationship between homosexuality and psychological development and illness. Hooker studied both homosexuals and heterosexuals—matched for age, intelligence, and knowledge level. The subjects were then given three psychological tests: the Rorschach, the Thematic Apperception Prove (TAT), and the Make-a-Picture-Story Assess (MAPS). Hooker found no major differences in the answers given by the two groups. Because of the similar scores, she concluded that sexuality is not based on environmental factors.
The evolutionary puzzle of homosexuality
These figures may not be high enough to sustain genetic traits specific to this group, but the evolutionary biologist Jeremy Yoder points out in a blog post, external that for much of up-to-date history gay people haven't been living openly lgbtq+ lives. Compelled by population to enter marriages and have children, their reproduction rates may have been higher than they are now.
How many lgbtq+ people have children also depends on how you define being "gay". Many of the "straight" men who have sex with fa'afafine in Samoa proceed on to get married and have children.
"The category of same-sex sexuality becomes very diffuse when you take a multicultural perspective," says Joan Roughgarden, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Hawaii. "If you go to India, you'll find that if someone says they are 'gay' or 'homosexual' then that immediately identifies them as Western. But that doesn't mean there's no homosexuality there."
Similarly in the West, there is evidence that many people go through a phase of homosexual activity. In the 1940s, US sex researcher Alfred K