A new study offers a glimpse into the genetics of same-sex attraction
A number of smaller studies have examined the genetics of same-sex attraction, but none has come close to the scope of this new study.
by Meghana Keshavan
Oct 24, 2018
3 minutes
What are the Darwinian underpinnings of same-sex attraction? And why do same-sex relations persist, generation after generation, if these individuals are less prone to procreate?
A massive genetic study aims to unravel these basic biological questions. It also touches on the question of whether it’s worthwhile, or even ethical, to study the genetics of sexual attraction in the first place.
Surveying the genes of nearly 500,000 men and women, researchers found four variants that were linked to people who had self-reported same-sex encounters. When those variants showed up in heterosexual men, those men tended
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