This caught my eye. I've always been curious as to how sexual orientation is genetically determined – e.g. what genes, what variations? Now here's a theory that homosexuality is controlled on an epigenetic level and passed down from the opposite sex parent. While this is just in theory stage, according to the researchers, it could be tested in a matter of six months. ~ Ilene
Scientists May Have Finally Unlocked Puzzle of Why People Are Gay
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By Has the riddle of human sexuality finally been cracked? A few scientists think so.
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.
Keep reading: Scientists May Have Finally Unlocked Puzzle of Why People Are Gay – US News and World Report.
