The search for the gay gene

British Medical Journal

BMJ 2005;330:1033 (30 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7498.1033

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The search for the gay gene

Another study from Dean Hamer's laboratory at the US National Institutes of Health indicates that genes may influence homosexuality in males ( Human Genetics 2005;116: 272-8[CrossRef][ISI][Medline]). The study involved a complete genome scan, the first ever conducted for the study of sexual orientation. Like the others before it, this study is far from conclusive, but it adds to the growing sense that genes play a role in male sexual orientation. The evidence for a genetic contribution to female homosexuality is less well developed, but the case is hardly closed. Social opinion in the back-ground of this research remains divided about its meaning and value.

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