Genetic Link found – Men being born Homosexual
A new study of gay men in the U.S. has found that male sexual orientation is influenced by genes passed on by the mother.
The British newspaper the Guardian reports that in a test of 400 gay men, genes on at least two chromosomes affected whether a man is gay.
“The study shows that there are genes involved in male sexual orientation,” said Michael Bailey, a psychologist at Northwestern University in Illinois, who set out the findings at a discussion event held in conjunction with the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Chicago.
Bailey has not yet published the work, but said it confirmed the findings of a smaller study that sparked widespread controversy in 1993, when Dean Hamer of the U.S. National Cancer found that more than 10 percent of brothers of gay men were gay themselves, compared to around 3 percent of the general population.
Bailey added that while genes play a role, so do multiple other factors including hormone levels in the womb.
“Sexual orientation has nothing to do with choice,” said Bailey. “We found evidence for two sets [of genes] that affect whether a man is gay or straight. Full story here!
