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F R I D A Y , J U N E 0 3 , 2 0 0 5Gays Can Be Cured! At Least, Gay Fruit FliesCan!by Michael in New York on
6/03/2005 03:02:00 AMThat's a headline some have feared for years -- would sciencefind a "gay" gene? One that parents could search for and aborta fetus before it's born (the way people around the world abortbaby girls) or perhaps just "fix?' Many took comfort in theknowledge that scientists believed something as complex assexual orientation would be derived from many factors and notjust one lone gene.Well, the New York Times reports in an experiment on fruit flies...That one gene, the researchers are announcing today in thejournal Cell, is apparently by itself enough to createpatterns of sexual behavior - a kind of master sexual genethat normally exists in two distinct male and femalevariants.In a series of experiments, the researchers found thatfemales given the male variant of the gene actedexactly like males in courtship, madly pursuing otherfemales. Males that were artificially given the femaleversion of the gene became more passive and turnedtheir sexual attention to other males."We have shown that a single gene in the fruit fly issufficient to determine all aspects of the flies' sexualorientation and behavior," said the paper's leadauthor, Dr. Barry Dickson, senior scientist at theInstitute of Molecular Biotechnology at the AustrianAcademy of Sciences in Vienna. "It's very surprising."What it tells us is that instinctive behaviors can bespecified by genetic programs, just like themorphologic development of an organ or a nose."The results are certain to prove influential in debatesabout whether genes or environment determine whowe are, how we act and, especially, our sexualorientation, although it is not clear now if there is asimilar master sexual gene for humans.Humans are much more complicated, of course. And one should pointout these are FRUIT flies we're talking about, after all. But is this apositive development? (See, it is genetic!) Or is it negative? (See, itcan be cured!)Actually, it's neither -- it's simply an apparent advance inhuman knowledge, one that could be confirmed or clarified orproven misleading down the road. Yes, people can abusescience or jump to silly conclusions based on one study. Butonly fools fear finding out the world is round or circles the sunor that the earth is more than 50,000 years old, etc. Let's leavefear and hatred of science to the fundies.
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© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Gays ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/gays-can-be-cured-at-leas...
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6/03/2005 03:02:00 AMThat's a headline some have feared for years -- would sciencefind a "gay" gene? One that parents could search for and aborta fetus before it's born (the way people around the world abortbaby girls) or perhaps just "fix?' Many took comfort in theknowledge that scientists believed something as complex assexual orientation would be derived from many factors and notjust one lone gene.Well, the New York Times reports in an experiment on fruit flies...That one gene, the researchers are announcing today in thejournal Cell, is apparently by itself enough to createpatterns of sexual behavior - a kind of master sexual genethat normally exists in two distinct male and femalevariants.In a series of experiments, the researchers found thatfemales given the male variant of the gene actedexactly like males in courtship, madly pursuing otherfemales. Males that were artificially given the femaleversion of the gene became more passive and turnedtheir sexual attention to other males."We have shown that a single gene in the fruit fly issufficient to determine all aspects of the flies' sexualorientation and behavior," said the paper's leadauthor, Dr. Barry Dickson, senior scientist at theInstitute of Molecular Biotechnology at the AustrianAcademy of Sciences in Vienna. "It's very surprising."What it tells us is that instinctive behaviors can bespecified by genetic programs, just like themorphologic development of an organ or a nose."The results are certain to prove influential in debatesabout whether genes or environment determine whowe are, how we act and, especially, our sexualorientation, although it is not clear now if there is asimilar master sexual gene for humans.Humans are much more complicated, of course. And one should pointout these are FRUIT flies we're talking about, after all. But is this apositive development? (See, it is genetic!) Or is it negative? (See, itcan be cured!)Actually, it's neither -- it's simply an apparent advance inhuman knowledge, one that could be confirmed or clarified orproven misleading down the road. Yes, people can abusescience or jump to silly conclusions based on one study. Butonly fools fear finding out the world is round or circles the sunor that the earth is more than 50,000 years old, etc. Let's leavefear and hatred of science to the fundies.
EschatonOvernight - Folk On. Newish.13 minutes ago
HuffPost PoliticsMichael Likosky: Ed Rendell: Hardest Working Manin Infrastructure - At this year's National GovernorsAssociation (NGA) meeting, Governor Ed Rendell'stenure as Chair fittingly came to a close with aplenary session on infras...15 minutes ago
Daily KosOpen Thread and Diary Rescue - *Today, srkp23(pulling a double shift), ybruti, taylormattd,ItsJessMe and vcmvo2 combed through hundredsof diaries to find this powerful list. Today's...31 minutes ago
Crooks and LiarsOpen Thread - Open Thread below...41 minutes ago
FiredoglakePecora in Perspective: Investment Banking,Commercial Banking, and Glass-Steagall - ThePecora Commission report devotes a substantialamount of pages to discussion of the evils ofallowing the commingling of commercial bankingservices, i...1 hour agoJ O H N ' S P H OT O S
Show AllA M E R I C A B L O G T V
Next 6AMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Gays ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/gays-can-be-cured-at-leas...
1 of 57/23/09 12:14 AM
Visit our AMERICAblog TV site.see all 322 videos >I collect with
vodpod
For the GOPers, healthcare is politics. They just
Traditional media has todebunk the birthers
One small step...
The right-wing media, thevoices of the GOP, in
REM - Orange CrushAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Gays ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/gays-can-be-cured-at-leas...
2 of 57/23/09 12:14 AM
Ezra KleinTab Dump4 hours agoWonk RoomSen. Byron Dorgan:The ‘Trade’ InCap-And-Trade ‘MakesNo Sense To Me’6 hours agoHealth BeatTruth Squad: WallStreet Journal HealthCare Editorial Wrong onthe Facts . . .6 hours agoThe TreatmentHatch Is Out8 hours agoDaily DoseProviders Endorse 'Payfor Value' Proposals14 hours agoG AY P O L I T I C S
Visit our new gay politicssection, AMERICAblog Gay.F E E D S
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AMERICAblog TV RSS
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Top AdAdvertise in this spot.H E A LT H C A R ER E F O R MAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Gays ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/gays-can-be-cured-at-leas...
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S E A R C H
AMERICAblog
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SearchS E N D U S T I P S &C O M M E N T Samericablog@starpower.netB L O G A R C H I V E
Blog ArchiveS I T E S W E L I K EAir America RadioAlan Colmes' blogAri Melber (The Nation)Ben SmithBicycleMark's blog &podcastBilericoBradBlogBring It OnCarrie FisherCrooks and LiarsDailyKosDan Savage's "Slog"Daou ReportDemocratic UndergroundEschatonEzra KleinFire Dog LakeFiveThirtyEight.comFreeway BloggerThe Gavel (SpeakerPelosi's blog)Good As YouGlenn GreenwaldHoly Bullies and HeadlessMonstersHuffington PostHullabaloo (Digby)Jack and Jill PoliticsJed ReportJesus' GeneralKenneth in the 212Margaret and HelenMatthew GrossMedia MattersMike Signorile's "The Gist"MudflatsMyDDOpen LeftPlum LinePolitical Punch (JakeTapper)Political WirePolitics 1Pop SurfingProgressive Blog DigestQueers UnitedRawStoryRex WocknerRude PunditSmirking ChimpTalk LeftTappedTaylor MarshThink ProgressTowleRoadVetVoice.comWashington NoteWayneBesen.comWonketteWorth Repeating
N E W S L I N K SUSWashington PostNYTAP PoliticsReuters PoliticsRasmussen PollsTimeNewsweekRoll CallThe HillABCNews
P L E A S E S U P P O RTA M E R I C A B L O GOne-time donation$
Recurring monthlydonation$
Donations are nottax-deductible.L A B E L S
Select a labelL A S T 1 0 0 V I S I T O R SRecent Visitors
A B O U TA M E R I C A B L O GWhy AMERICAblog?Because a great nationdeserves the truth.What issues do youcover?US politics overall with aparticular focus on theObama Administration, theradical right, and civilrights.Who are you?John AravosisEditorWashington, DCJoe SudbayDeputy EditorWashington, DCChris RyanAssociate EditorParis, FranceRobert ArenaContributing EditorBaltimore, MarylandJacki SchechnerContributing EditorWashington, DCAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Gays ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/gays-can-be-cured-at-leas...
4 of 57/23/09 12:14 AM
© 2009 - John Aravosis | Design maintenance by Jason RosenbaumSend me your tips: americablog@starpower.netAMERICAblog News| A great nation deserves the truth: Gays ...http://www.americablog.com/2005/06/gays-can-be-cured-at-leas...
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