The discovery of 'fruitless' will not be enough (767 hits)
Category: Science & EnvironmentalRating: 1.77 on 13 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by dodahdave (View user info) at 2005-06-05 03:21:34 EDT
Geneticists have recently discovered a single gene in fruit flies that determines sexual orientation.
http://www.cell.com/content/article/fulltext?uid=PIIS0092867405004071 (full-length journal article from the journal Cell)
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/science_technology/story.jsp?story=644275 (news blurb from The Independent)
The gene is hilariously called 'fruitless.' Drosophila geneticists are a crazy bunch: some gene names include 'bazooka,' 'son-of-sevenless,' 'sonic' (named after the hedgehog) and 'frazzled,' among others.
By altering the alleles (forms of the gene), the geneticists were able to show that females with the male allele performed courtship rituals like males, shunned males and directed their mating energies toward females. The converse was true when they put the female allele into males.
This groundbreaking research indicates that sexual orientation, long considered a complex trait and at the centre of the 'nature vs. nurture' debate regarding behavior, is not controlled by environment alone. Genetics appear to have a role to play in the sexual orientation of fruit flies.
This is in addition to the research out of Sweden a few weeks ago that showed that homosexual male humans responded to male pheromones similarly to heterosexual female humans, indicating that sexual responses to smells are heritable (genetic) and not learned (behavioral).
http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/abstract/0407998102v1 (abstract from the prestigious journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences). (This journal's acronym is PNAS. Say it quick to find out why we don't refer to it by it's acronym!)
http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=1406&date=20050510 (news blurb).
It seems to most scientists in related fields (genetics in general) that we are closing in on 'slam-dunk' proof that sexual orientation is not a chosen behavior. Most geneticists, and probably most scientists, would agree with this assessment. For the record, so would I.
The problem is that we're preaching to the wrong crowd. We assume that the 'proof' documented above is sufficient to overcome LEARNED behavior that dictates one's view of homosexuality. I'm talking, of course, about the argument by religious people that homosexuality is a learned behavior that can be changed.
Unfortunately, the evidence above is not without problems. The research from Sweden lacked some of the necessary controls to ensure that the results definitively lead to the conclusion reached: the researchers didn't appear to deal with the possibility that the reasons homosexual males responded positively to male pheromones is that it was a learned response from past sexual encounters. In short, maybe gay males respond to male pheromones is because they smell like sex with a guy...
The problem with the research in fruit flies - and the argument we're sure to hear endlessly in the next couple of weeks - is that humans are not fruit flies. There are many traits that are controlled by single genes in fruit flies that are not controlled by single genes in humans. I don't think this invalidates the fruit fly results, but I do think it means that we can't claim that we've "solved" the problem yet.
What has to happen now is that we must demonstrate similar genetic traits in more complex animals, especially mammals. This will be particularly difficult because sexual orientation is not likely to be a single-gene trait in higher-order animals. Nonetheless, I believe it is possible to show this connection through properly controlled experiments. We mustn't jump the gun on declaring this puzzle solved.
Time flies like an arrow.
Fruit flies like a banana.
-Groucho Marx
By the way, it turns out that one of the definitions of 'fruit flies' is "heterosexual women who socialize exclusively with homosexual men." Sort of like "fag hag."
Who knew?
User Reviews
Submitted by Vulva (user info) at 2005-06-06 12:37:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I swear I dont care - but here
Submitted by pushedbyboredom (user info) at 2005-06-06 12:16:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Too tired to read it, but I did see the title of the pic.
+2
Submitted by jgreening (user info) at 2005-06-06 12:01:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-06-05 23:41:14 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2005-06-05 21:45:06 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Banga3386 (user info) at 2005-06-05 04:10:08 (#)
Ranking: 2
Very good piece, informative with opinion, but without bias. I thank you for turning me on to these findings.
Oh and the title of the pic made me spit out my drink.
Submitted by Draqus (user info) at 2005-06-06 11:55:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Williamson:
You need to learn the difference between phenotype and genotype.
If all this is correct, then it works in the same way as haemophilia in females.
Genes come in pairs.
Submitted by clumeister (user info) at 2005-06-06 11:35:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
just when you thought it was safe to walk with your children down the produce aisle...
Submitted by williamson (user info) at 2005-06-06 00:24:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This seriously counters my arguement: http://www.ubersite.com/m/61521
At either rate, with the assumption gheyness is genetic we now have 2 possibilities:
1) The gene evolved there (creating serious inconsistencies with Darwinist theory, since they ghey gene should have been bred out (or not bred at all, i suppose)).
2) Gheyness is only there when the gene isn't doing what it should be (backing up the statement "There's something wrong with fags").
Submitted by munkeypants (user info) at 2005-06-05 23:41:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2005-06-05 21:45:06 (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Banga3386 (user info) at 2005-06-05 04:10:08 (#)
Ranking: 2
Very good piece, informative with opinion, but without bias. I thank you for turning me on to these findings.
Oh and the title of the pic made me spit out my drink.
Submitted by jack11058 (user info) at 2005-06-05 21:45:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Banga3386 (user info) at 2005-06-05 04:10:08 (#)
Ranking: 2
Very good piece, informative with opinion, but without bias. I thank you for turning me on to these findings.
Oh and the title of the pic made me spit out my drink.
Submitted by Sassmasterr (user info) at 2005-06-05 05:10:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
oh, shlongy. what will he do next?
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2005-06-05 04:49:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hurrah for genetics!
Submitted by Banga3386 (user info) at 2005-06-05 04:10:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very good piece, informative with opinion, but without bias. I thank you for turning me on to these findings.
Oh and the title of the pic made me spit out my drink.
Banga
Submitted by Chroniclysm (user info) at 2005-06-05 03:56:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by simple_catalyst (user info) at 2005-06-05 03:37:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment