Nbadan
02-22-2006, 02:18 PM
TUESDAY, Feb. 21 (HealthDay News) -- New research adds a twist to the debate on the origins of sexual orientation, suggesting that the genetics of mothers of multiple gay sons act differently than those of other women.
Scientists found that almost one fourth of the mothers who had more than one gay son processed X chromosomes in their bodies in the same way. Normally, women randomly process the chromosomes in one of two ways -- half go one way, half go the other.
The research "confirms that there is a strong genetic basis for sexual orientation, and that for some gay men, genes on the X chromosome are involved," said study co-author Sven Bocklandt, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles.
The link between genetics and sexual orientation has been a hot topic for more than a decade as a few scientists have tried to find genes that might make people gay or straight. In the new study, Bocklandt and colleagues examined a phenomenon called "X-chromosome inactivation."
Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060222/hl_hsn/momsgeneticsmighthelpproducegaysons)
The genetics of the X chromosome is very complicated - A woman uses only one of her X chromosomes, but either of her X chromosomes can be passed on to a child, even the deactivated one. It would make sense that a woman could have multiple gay children because the X chromosome with the "gay gene" was the one in the egg. She could also have straight children because they got the egg with the "non-gay gene" X chromosome.
With lesbians, it would have to do with which X chromosome was deactivated - if the father's X chromosome was deactivated and the mother passed on an X chromosome with the "gay gene", the woman would be a lesbian. She would be straight if the "gay gene" X chromosome is deactivated, or she got a "non-gay gene" X chromosome from her mom and her dad's X chromosome was deactivated, OR the father could pass on a "gay gene" X chromosome as well and thus the 2 "gay gene" X chromosomes would produce a lesbian.
Got that? Good.
:hat
Scientists found that almost one fourth of the mothers who had more than one gay son processed X chromosomes in their bodies in the same way. Normally, women randomly process the chromosomes in one of two ways -- half go one way, half go the other.
The research "confirms that there is a strong genetic basis for sexual orientation, and that for some gay men, genes on the X chromosome are involved," said study co-author Sven Bocklandt, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California at Los Angeles.
The link between genetics and sexual orientation has been a hot topic for more than a decade as a few scientists have tried to find genes that might make people gay or straight. In the new study, Bocklandt and colleagues examined a phenomenon called "X-chromosome inactivation."
Yahoo News (http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20060222/hl_hsn/momsgeneticsmighthelpproducegaysons)
The genetics of the X chromosome is very complicated - A woman uses only one of her X chromosomes, but either of her X chromosomes can be passed on to a child, even the deactivated one. It would make sense that a woman could have multiple gay children because the X chromosome with the "gay gene" was the one in the egg. She could also have straight children because they got the egg with the "non-gay gene" X chromosome.
With lesbians, it would have to do with which X chromosome was deactivated - if the father's X chromosome was deactivated and the mother passed on an X chromosome with the "gay gene", the woman would be a lesbian. She would be straight if the "gay gene" X chromosome is deactivated, or she got a "non-gay gene" X chromosome from her mom and her dad's X chromosome was deactivated, OR the father could pass on a "gay gene" X chromosome as well and thus the 2 "gay gene" X chromosomes would produce a lesbian.
Got that? Good.
:hat