interesting article by Harvard Med Researcher on homosexuality
Somewhat off-topic (and conservative in some estimates), but just something interesting....
_______________________________________
Search for biological roots of homosexuality leads to genes
Judy Foreman
Published December 7, 2003 FORE07
Is there a biological basis for homosexuality?
With gay marriage likely to be a hot-button issue in the presidential campaign, the question of whether sexual orientation is an innate or acquired trait is increasingly urgent.
Since at least 1991, some scientific research has suggested a biological basis to homosexuality -- meaning sexual orientation is probably at least partly not a choice. But that point is open to political and scientific debate, and our understanding of how biology drives sexual orientation is still fuzzy. An estimated 2 to 4 percent of the general population is homosexual, although activists say the figure is higher.
Some data on identical twins suggest that homosexuality -- particularly in men -- is inherited. Other scientists have tried to pin down differences in brain structure.
Understanding homosexuality, or even heterosexuality, involves, among other things, figuring out how the brain, the seat of all complex behavior, becomes male or female in the first place.
Until recently, researchers thought that a surge in the male hormone testosterone in the fetus set the brain on a male track. Without testosterone, the brain continues on a female track.
But in a study published in October, California researchers identified 54 genes that play a role in the expression of sex -- before hormones are ever released.
"This refutes the idea that hormones are the only story in sexual differentiation of the brain. That has been the dogma in the field for 30 years," said lead researcher Dr. Eric Vilain, assistant professor of human genetics and urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The study's implications are many. An estimated one in 4,000 babies is born with "ambiguous genitalia," making it difficult to tell whether the baby is a boy or a girl. By analyzing chromosomes and looking for internal sexual organs such as ovaries or prostate gland, doctors make their best guess as to the true sex of the child and sometimes perform surgery to make the anatomy conform to that. DNA analysis of the variations in these 54 genes and other genes that interact with them may help doctors in figuring out the child's gender, Vilain says.
Genes and gender identity
The 54 genes may also help explain transgenderism. That condition, which affects about one in 50,000 people, is characterized by the feeling that one was born the "wrong" sex. Some transgendered individuals simply live as the gender they feel they are, regardless of anatomy; others have sex-change surgery.
The UCLA study does not address homosexuality directly. But other data suggest that 75 percent of boys who were confused about their gender identity as children grow up to be gay, Vilain says. The study, he said, may help "pave the way to find out about gender identity" in such children.
Other studies on the genetic roots of homosexuality are mixed.
Dr. Richard Pillard, a professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, has studied male and female homosexuals. In men, he said, sexual orientation is often inherited. In women, "sexuality is not as rigidly set."
In identical male twins, his research shows, if one is gay, there's a 50 percent chance that the other one is, too. If homosexuality were totally genetically determined, that figure should be 100 percent. On the other hand, in male fraternal twins, there's only a 20 percent chance that if one is homosexual, the other will be.
In 1991, an autopsy study by Simon LeVay at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego found that part of the brain called the anterior hypothalamus was twice as large in heterosexual men as in homosexual men, suggesting a biological basis for homosexuality. Because the gay men in the study all were infected with HIV, it is possible that the disease, rather than their homosexuality, transformed their brains.
Proof proves evasive
Other studies that have tried to draw a biological link to homosexuality have faced problems, as well.
In 1993, Dean Hamer, a molecular biologist at the National Cancer Institute, studied 40 pairs of gay brothers and published his results in Science. With a technique called linkage mapping, Hamer identified a region called Xq28 on the X chromosome (inherited from the mother) that was statistically correlated to homosexuality. In 1995, a second study by Hamer and others confirmed that finding.
In 1999, researchers at the University of Western Ontario studied the same brain region in 52 gay male sibling pairs and reported contradictory findings. Clearly, more research is needed to prove homosexuality is inherited.
However, Dr. Fred Berlin, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said the basic conclusion is already clear: Homosexuality "is not due to voluntary choice.
None of us as kids sat down and said, 'Do I want to be attracted to members of the same gender?' "
Judy Foreman is a lecturer on medicine at Harvard Medical School.She can be reached at [email protected].
____________________________________________
Another interesting article from another web-site...
From the very beginning, the "ex-gay" ministries have been enmeshed in a
series of high profile failures. In addition to the crestfallen Paulk, the
following are the most well publicized defections and scandals in the
colorful annals of "ex-gay" history:
* In 1973, John Evans, co-founded the world's first modern "ex-gay"
ministry, Love In Action, on the outskirts of San Francisco. However, after
Evans' best friend Jack McIntyre committed suicide in despair over not being
able to change, Evans realized that the program was not working and
denounced Love in Action. To this day, the co-founder of the world's
original "ex-gay" ministry condemns the program as a dangerous - and
sometimes fatal - fraud.
* In the early 1970's Gary Cooper and Michael Bussee were counselors at an
"ex-gay" ministry in Anaheim, Calif. In 1976, they organized the first
national conference of "ex-gay" ministries. At this conference, Exodus
International was formed and it is now the world's largest "ex-gay"
organization. While traveling on behalf of Exodus, the two men acknowledged
that they had not changed and were in love with each other. They soon
divorced their wives, moved in together and eventually held a commitment
ceremony.
* In 1979, Seventh Day Adventist minister Colin Cook founded Homosexuals
Anonymous (HA). Appearing twice on the Phil Donahue show, he solidified his
reputation in the early 80's as the nation's premier "ex-gay" spokesperson.
But Cook's efforts collapsed in 1986 after he was exposed for giving clients
nude massages. Cook moved to Colorado and made a comeback in 1992 by helping
Colorado for Family Values and Focus on the Family promote their anti-gay
agenda. But in 1995, Cook's efforts unraveled, once again, after several of
Cook's clients accused him of phone sex and inappropriate hugs.
* In 2000, Wade Richard's appeared as a media spokesperson for a group
called the Saviors Alliance for Lifting the Truth and gave his testimony of
"change" at a major press conference sponsored by right-wing leader Peter
LaBarbera, who now works for an affiliate of Concerned Women for America.
But a year later, Richards rebuked the "ex-gay" ministries when he came out
in an interview with the Advocate magazine.
* In 1987, Jeremy Marks founded Courage, London's first "ex-gay" ministry.
In 2001, after nearly 15 years of watching people - including himself -
struggle in vain to change, he renounced Exodus's methods by saying that
they were failing in their efforts to change peoples' sexual orientation.
"Those who do not study history are destined to repeat it," said Herrschaft.
"And the history of the 'ex-gay' myth is clearly one of extreme sadness and
failure. We implore Focus on the Family to stop this campaign of ill will
and tell the truth: Many people escape the 'ex-gay' hoax and go on to live
satisfying, spiritually-fulfilling lives as openly gay men and women."
_______________________________________
Search for biological roots of homosexuality leads to genes
Judy Foreman
Published December 7, 2003 FORE07
Is there a biological basis for homosexuality?
With gay marriage likely to be a hot-button issue in the presidential campaign, the question of whether sexual orientation is an innate or acquired trait is increasingly urgent.
Since at least 1991, some scientific research has suggested a biological basis to homosexuality -- meaning sexual orientation is probably at least partly not a choice. But that point is open to political and scientific debate, and our understanding of how biology drives sexual orientation is still fuzzy. An estimated 2 to 4 percent of the general population is homosexual, although activists say the figure is higher.
Some data on identical twins suggest that homosexuality -- particularly in men -- is inherited. Other scientists have tried to pin down differences in brain structure.
Understanding homosexuality, or even heterosexuality, involves, among other things, figuring out how the brain, the seat of all complex behavior, becomes male or female in the first place.
Until recently, researchers thought that a surge in the male hormone testosterone in the fetus set the brain on a male track. Without testosterone, the brain continues on a female track.
But in a study published in October, California researchers identified 54 genes that play a role in the expression of sex -- before hormones are ever released.
"This refutes the idea that hormones are the only story in sexual differentiation of the brain. That has been the dogma in the field for 30 years," said lead researcher Dr. Eric Vilain, assistant professor of human genetics and urology at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.
The study's implications are many. An estimated one in 4,000 babies is born with "ambiguous genitalia," making it difficult to tell whether the baby is a boy or a girl. By analyzing chromosomes and looking for internal sexual organs such as ovaries or prostate gland, doctors make their best guess as to the true sex of the child and sometimes perform surgery to make the anatomy conform to that. DNA analysis of the variations in these 54 genes and other genes that interact with them may help doctors in figuring out the child's gender, Vilain says.
Genes and gender identity
The 54 genes may also help explain transgenderism. That condition, which affects about one in 50,000 people, is characterized by the feeling that one was born the "wrong" sex. Some transgendered individuals simply live as the gender they feel they are, regardless of anatomy; others have sex-change surgery.
The UCLA study does not address homosexuality directly. But other data suggest that 75 percent of boys who were confused about their gender identity as children grow up to be gay, Vilain says. The study, he said, may help "pave the way to find out about gender identity" in such children.
Other studies on the genetic roots of homosexuality are mixed.
Dr. Richard Pillard, a professor of psychiatry at Boston University School of Medicine, has studied male and female homosexuals. In men, he said, sexual orientation is often inherited. In women, "sexuality is not as rigidly set."
In identical male twins, his research shows, if one is gay, there's a 50 percent chance that the other one is, too. If homosexuality were totally genetically determined, that figure should be 100 percent. On the other hand, in male fraternal twins, there's only a 20 percent chance that if one is homosexual, the other will be.
In 1991, an autopsy study by Simon LeVay at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego found that part of the brain called the anterior hypothalamus was twice as large in heterosexual men as in homosexual men, suggesting a biological basis for homosexuality. Because the gay men in the study all were infected with HIV, it is possible that the disease, rather than their homosexuality, transformed their brains.
Proof proves evasive
Other studies that have tried to draw a biological link to homosexuality have faced problems, as well.
In 1993, Dean Hamer, a molecular biologist at the National Cancer Institute, studied 40 pairs of gay brothers and published his results in Science. With a technique called linkage mapping, Hamer identified a region called Xq28 on the X chromosome (inherited from the mother) that was statistically correlated to homosexuality. In 1995, a second study by Hamer and others confirmed that finding.
In 1999, researchers at the University of Western Ontario studied the same brain region in 52 gay male sibling pairs and reported contradictory findings. Clearly, more research is needed to prove homosexuality is inherited.
However, Dr. Fred Berlin, a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, said the basic conclusion is already clear: Homosexuality "is not due to voluntary choice.
None of us as kids sat down and said, 'Do I want to be attracted to members of the same gender?' "
Judy Foreman is a lecturer on medicine at Harvard Medical School.She can be reached at [email protected].
____________________________________________
Another interesting article from another web-site...
From the very beginning, the "ex-gay" ministries have been enmeshed in a
series of high profile failures. In addition to the crestfallen Paulk, the
following are the most well publicized defections and scandals in the
colorful annals of "ex-gay" history:
* In 1973, John Evans, co-founded the world's first modern "ex-gay"
ministry, Love In Action, on the outskirts of San Francisco. However, after
Evans' best friend Jack McIntyre committed suicide in despair over not being
able to change, Evans realized that the program was not working and
denounced Love in Action. To this day, the co-founder of the world's
original "ex-gay" ministry condemns the program as a dangerous - and
sometimes fatal - fraud.
* In the early 1970's Gary Cooper and Michael Bussee were counselors at an
"ex-gay" ministry in Anaheim, Calif. In 1976, they organized the first
national conference of "ex-gay" ministries. At this conference, Exodus
International was formed and it is now the world's largest "ex-gay"
organization. While traveling on behalf of Exodus, the two men acknowledged
that they had not changed and were in love with each other. They soon
divorced their wives, moved in together and eventually held a commitment
ceremony.
* In 1979, Seventh Day Adventist minister Colin Cook founded Homosexuals
Anonymous (HA). Appearing twice on the Phil Donahue show, he solidified his
reputation in the early 80's as the nation's premier "ex-gay" spokesperson.
But Cook's efforts collapsed in 1986 after he was exposed for giving clients
nude massages. Cook moved to Colorado and made a comeback in 1992 by helping
Colorado for Family Values and Focus on the Family promote their anti-gay
agenda. But in 1995, Cook's efforts unraveled, once again, after several of
Cook's clients accused him of phone sex and inappropriate hugs.
* In 2000, Wade Richard's appeared as a media spokesperson for a group
called the Saviors Alliance for Lifting the Truth and gave his testimony of
"change" at a major press conference sponsored by right-wing leader Peter
LaBarbera, who now works for an affiliate of Concerned Women for America.
But a year later, Richards rebuked the "ex-gay" ministries when he came out
in an interview with the Advocate magazine.
* In 1987, Jeremy Marks founded Courage, London's first "ex-gay" ministry.
In 2001, after nearly 15 years of watching people - including himself -
struggle in vain to change, he renounced Exodus's methods by saying that
they were failing in their efforts to change peoples' sexual orientation.
"Those who do not study history are destined to repeat it," said Herrschaft.
"And the history of the 'ex-gay' myth is clearly one of extreme sadness and
failure. We implore Focus on the Family to stop this campaign of ill will
and tell the truth: Many people escape the 'ex-gay' hoax and go on to live
satisfying, spiritually-fulfilling lives as openly gay men and women."