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Asher
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Calgary, Alberta
Nov 1999
time: 22:31
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http://www.cnn.com/2003/HEALTH/10/2...reut/index.html
quote:
Study: Sexual identity hard-wired by genetics
Monday, October 20, 2003 Posted: 10:06 AM EDT (1406 GMT)
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- Sexual identity is wired into the genes, which discounts the concept that homosexuality and transgender sexuality are a choice, California researchers reported on Monday.
"Our findings may help answer an important question -- why do we feel male or female?" Dr. Eric Vilain, a genetics professor at the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, said in a statement. "Sexual identity is rooted in every person's biology before birth and springs from a variation in our individual genome."
His team has identified 54 genes in mice that may explain why male and female brains look and function differently.
Since the 1970s, scientists have believed that estrogen and testosterone were wholly responsible for sexually organizing the brain. Recent evidence, however, indicates that hormones cannot explain everything about the sexual differences between male and female brains.
Published in the latest edition of the journal Molecular Brain Research, the UCLA discovery may also offer physicians an improved tool for gender assignment of babies born with ambiguous genitalia.
Mild cases of malformed genitalia occur in 1 percent of all births -- about 3 million cases. More severe cases -- where doctors can't inform parents whether they had a boy or girl -- occur in one in 3,000 births.
"If physicians could predict the gender of newborns with ambiguous genitalia at birth, we would make less mistakes in gender assignment," Vilain said.
Using two genetic testing methods, the researchers compared the production of genes in male and female brains in embryonic mice -- long before the animals developed sex organs.
They found 54 genes produced in different amounts in male and female mouse brains, prior to hormonal influence. Eighteen of the genes were produced at higher levels in the male brains; 36 were produced at higher levels in the female brains.
"We discovered that the male and female brains differed in many measurable ways, including anatomy and function." Vilain said.
For example, the two hemispheres of the brain appeared more symmetrical in females than in males. According to Vilain, the symmetry may improve communication between both sides of the brain, leading to enhanced verbal expressiveness in females.
"This anatomical difference may explain why women can sometimes articulate their feelings more easily than men," he said.
The scientists plan to conduct further studies to determine the specific role for each of the 54 genes they identified.
"Our findings may explain why we feel male or female, regardless of our actual anatomy," said Vilain. "These discoveries lend credence to the idea that being transgender --- feeling that one has been born into the body of the wrong sex -- is a state of mind." |
Well, most people already knew it wasn't a choice. 
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Lincoln
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This study seems to confirm that men and women are different. Oh wait, we already knew that.
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Lincoln
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Hey let's not jack this thread. Asher is trying to prove here that something in his jeans, er I mean genes, that makes him the way he is. Let's stick to the point!
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Lincoln
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He also just threw a monkey wrench into femenism. There must be a mistake somewhere. That is certainly not politically correct.
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Sikander
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Boulder, Colorado, United Snakes of America
Jan 2000
time: 22:31
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quote:
Originally posted by Wittlich
Sikander, here is the begining of the article again with the homosexuality part bolded so that you will not miss it: 
EDIT: If you will notice, the article states that this is what the researchers reported - not the journalist.  |
Look, a lot of what this study says it proves was already well-known in regards to gender. We have known the mechanism for gender for a very long time, and we have also been able to measure the differences in men's brains vs womens brains. This study simply shows that at least some of this happens earlier than previously proven (but not theorized or even observed). Yay. This doesn't necessarily have anything to do with someone's sexuality, where there is strong correlation between gender and sexual preference (what, about 90% or so) and as yet no proof of causation for any sexual preference, straight, gay or bi.
As for the journalist, he / she / it knows what sells. This is why the homosexual thing is in the title as well as the first line, yet is not mentioned again in the article. Note also that it is not a quote, but seemingly an impression that the journalist had about the research. Show me the article that the NY Times writes about this study (if they bother) and perhaps we can take some actual information from it and have a discussion.
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yavoon
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just as well have a study say that. I'm surprised this isnt like getting funding for determining the differences between the races.
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21-10-2003 04:51
Says the stupid creationist. Creationists shouldn't even be allowed to talk about science. 
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