Advertisement

Scientists find genetic link to being gay in breakthrough study

Is Being Gay in Your DNA? Scientists Keep Trying to Find a Genetic Basis for Sexual Orientation
Is Being Gay in Your DNA? Scientists Keep Trying to Find a Genetic Basis for Sexual Orientation

Researchers have found the best evidence yet for genetic links to sexuality – with two genetic regions which appear to be linked to whether men are gay or straight.

The Northshore University study analysed the DNA of 2,000 men – 1,077 homosexual and 1,231 heterosexual, of mainly European ancestry,

The researchers noticed differences in DNA for gay and straight men around two genes, SLITRK5 and SLITRK6, the Telegraph reports.

MOST POPULAR STORIES ON YAHOO UK TODAY

Nearly half of UK smartphone users unlock their phone 4,000 times a year for no reason at all
In pictures: Devastating California wildfires as seen from International Space Station
Thug driver jailed for chasing down and killing biker, 22, in chilling road rage attack
HMS Queen Elizabeth, UK’s biggest warship, handed to Royal Navy in Portsmouth ceremony
Strange new dinosaur ‘was a mix of a velociraptor and a goose’

SLITRK6 is an important gene for brain development, and active in an area of the brain including the hypothalamus – crucial for producing hormones which control sex drive.

Alan Sanders from NorthShore University HealthSystem in Evanston, Illinois says, ‘Because sexuality is an essential part of human life – for individuals and society – it is important to understand the development and expression of human sexual orientation.

‘The goal of this study was to search for genetic underpinnings of male sexual orientation, and thus ultimately increase our knowledge of biological mechanisms underlying sexual orientation.’