Hamer Hammered by New Scientific Study, FRC Says
"Science Confirms What I've Seen in My Own Life as Well as in
the Lives of Thousands of Others Who Have Left the Homosexual Lifestyle," Cantu Says
WASHINGTON, April 22 /PRNewswire/ -- " Scientists are finally telling
us what we've always known. There is absolutely no scientific proof of a 'gay
gene,'" said Family Research Council Policy Analyst Yvette Cantu Thursday.
A study conducted in 1993 by openly "gay" activist and
researcher Dr. Dean Hamer of the National Cancer Institute examined the X chromosomes of
40 pairs of homosexual brothers. The study, which appeared in the March 1993 issue
of the journal Science, found that 33 of the pairs of brothers had genetic markers
for male homosexuality.
A new study attempting to replicate Hamer's was released today by the same
Science magazine, discrediting the 1993 study. The study conducted by
scientists from the Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences at the University of
Western Ontario and the Department of Genetics at Stanford Medical School concluded that
"data do not support the presence of a gene of large effect influencing sexual
orientation."
The Boston Globe reported in February that the media-ballyhooed
"gay gene" theory was already in trouble. The Globe article
featured the findings of Dr. Richard Pillard, a professor of psychiatry at Boston
University's School of Medicine, whose twin studies showed "that sexuality is greatly
influenced by environment, and that the role of genetics is, in the end,
limited."
"These findings confirm what I've seen in my own life as well as in
the lives of thousands and thousands of people who have left the lifestyle," said
Cantu. "I am living proof that homosexuality is not an immutable
characteristic. Hamer himself has said that lesbianism is 'culturally transmitted, not
inherited ... It's more environmental than genetic, more nurture than nature.' Will
these recent studies force Hamer to concede that male homosexuality is also not a matter
of genetics but of environment?
"This new study reveals that Hamer's activism got in the way of his
ability to remain unbiased about his research," said Cantu. " 'Gay'
activists have used Hamer's research to promote everything from 'gay' marriage to 'hate
crimes' legislation. However, Science's study further undermines any attempt to
change public policy in his name."
SOURCE: Family Research Council
BBC - April 23, 1999
Doubt cast on 'gay gene'
There is no evidence for the "gay gene"
that a study claims
to have found.
BBC World Service's John Newell: Is this research needed?
Previous research suggested that male homosexuality is passed on from
mother to son.
But the new work, covering more people, aims to show that the particular
genetic features implicated are no more common in gay men than would be expected.
"Because our study was larger than the original one, we certainly had
adequate power to detect a genetic effect as large as was reported in that study,"
said the team from the University of Western Ontario in the journal, Science.
"Nonetheless, our data does not support the presence of a gene of
large effect influencing sexual orientation," they concluded.
However, both the studies targeted only one part of the X
chromosome. The authors of the new study say that: "These results do not
preclude the possibility of detectable gene effects elsewhere in the genome."
Equality needed
Griffith Vaughan Williams from the UK Campaign for Homosexual Equality
says conflicting research results in this field are beside the point: "The most
important thing is, that however I and other homosexuals are created, we are treated as
equals."
When the first study was published in 1993, there was concern it might
lead to pre-natal screening and abortion of foetuses carrying the gene.
The new study used DNA from 52 pairs of gay brothers. These were recruited
via advertisements in two Canadian gay news magazines. Mr Williams expressed
surprise that so many homosexuals were willing to help in such experiments.
The researchers looked to see if the gay brothers shared more of the
candidate genetic markers than would be expected. Any pair of brothers will share
about half their DNA on any particular chromosome.
They found that 46% of the 52 pairs of brothers shared three key
markers. In the previous study, which considered five markers, those scientists
reported that 83% of 40 pairs shared the markers.
Conflicting results
"It is unclear why our results are so discrepant from the original
study," say the scientists in Science. This is strong language for a
scientific journal, implying the scientists believe that mistakes were made in the first
study.
However, none of the team would speak to the BBC to confirm this.
The new study has been criticised by the lead author of the old study, Professor Dean Hamer, over how the subjects were selected.
The 1993 study was the most powerful piece of evidence for a strong
genetic factor in male homosexuality.
But other studies, such as one showing that identical twins are more
likely to both be gay than non-identical twins, means that the nature-nurture debate will
continue.
© BBC
On Line
Opinion
June 08, 2004
Homosexuality is not biologically
determined - latest research.
By David van Gend
The Titanic of Gay Rights, leaving all in its wake, is about to founder
on a large and immovable fact....
The iceberg of clinical fact looming up in the dark is this: that
homosexuals who want to become heterosexual can and do change, as
authoritative medical research has now demonstrated. Given the will, and
skilled therapy, there can be an end to the nightmare of same-sex
attraction. That is the best news for our heartsick friends down below deck,
but it is bad news for the complacent triumphalists of the Gay Titanic....
As to the exact causes of homosexuality, the medical jury is still
out. But the baseless claim, promoted by [Australian] Justice Michael Kirby
and others, that gays are just
born that way, is given no support by the
American Psychiatric
Association. Their Fact Sheet on Sexual Orientation (2000) sums
it up: "There are no replicated scientific studies supporting any specific
biological etiology for homosexuality"....
Full
Story |
