A gene for homosexuality

Recent research has confirmed the previous findings in the 1990's, that an area on the X chromosome - known memorably as Xq28 - is the one associated with homosexuality.

In a study of brothers - in families where one brother was gay - this area  Xq28  - was more likely to be shared by gay brothers than by heterosexual brothers.

However - as with so many things that we discover to be genetic - it is not just a case of having that area Xq28  - it is also necessary to have something else.

Nature and Nurture

The findings suggest that -
30 to 40% of it is Nature -the baby having that gene area
The rest - the other -
60 to 70% is Nurture - most probably the fluid in the womb where the baby grows for 9 months.

The contents (chemicals and hormones) of that womb fluid vary from woman to woman and will be different for every baby that she has. It can be influenced by factors that the outside world have on her and it can be influenced by that particular baby in the uterus, and the effect it has on her.

I find this all quite fascinating

As mothers  -we agonise over the effects that our mothering may have on our child. However - in reality - the main effect is happening before birth - in the 9 months in utero - inside us. We may think we can make this safe by stopping all the evils such as smoking drinking and taking drugs, but most factors are quite outside our control. We think we can control Nurture - but we can't.

Perhaps a time will come when the newly fertilised human egg will be grown in an artificial womb. But I think that is a long way off. More and more  - for good things and bad -we are discovering that genetics requires the specific gene area and the specific dynamic environment in the womb.

It also makes one wonder about surrogate mothers - who hire out their wombs. It may be an egg from the couple renting the womb but it is the nurturing in the surrogate womb which will be responsible for so many of the genes which will be activated or not.

But - back to homosexuality. Why would nature allow a gene area for homosexuality to carry on in society. According to Darwin and his natural selection it should have disappeared - assuming that most homosexuals don't have children.

This is very interesting
It seems that mothers of homosexuals (who have the X chromosome with area Xq28) are more fertile than other woman. So although they produce the occasional homosexual child  - they have more children overall.
Nature likes that.