Some Random Thoughts on ‘Gay Gene’ Studi | Psychiatric News

identical twins gay and straight

Chris Malpartida is gay. His tw brother Michael is bi. They both play llege soccer and tennis for the same school. They both are happy to be out athlet.

Contents:

YOUR GOOD HEALTH: WHY IS ONE ‘INTIL’ TW GAY, THE OTHER STRAIGHT?

Tw pairs which at least one tw is homosexual were soliced through announcements the gay prs and personal referrals om 1980 to the prent. An 18-page qutnnaire on the "sexualy of tws" was filled out by one or both tws. Thirty-eight pairs of monozygotic tws (34 male pairs … * identical twins gay and straight *

In fact, scientists recently intified two specific gen that appear to differ between gay and straight men [1]. In s like this, some might argue that perhaps both tws are actually gay, but one jt hasn’t e out yet. In a study where scientists looked at the sexual aroal patterns of intil tws wh different sexuali—specifilly, where one was gay and the other was straight—they found that gay tws monstrated more genal aroal rponse to same-sex imag, whereas straight tws monstrated more aroal rponse to oppose-sex imag [2].

In theory, this means two people uld rry “gay gen, ” but both of them wouldn’t necsarily be gay pendg on certa environmental factors. 012% of the populatn nsists of a gay or bisexual person who happens to have an intil tw [2]. If their DNA gen are “intil, ” now that they are adults, how n one be homosexual, while his tw is married wh children?

SCIENTISTS FD DNA DIFFERENC BETWEEN GAY MEN AND THEIR STRAIGHT TW BROTHERS

As time go on, scientists have regnized that not everybody fs to the clear-cut tegori of “straight” and “gay. Studi have shown that intil tws, if one tw is gay (the term “homosexual” is ed clil studi but is nsired offensive, so I won’t e further), then 30 per cent to 66 per cent of the intil tws also will be gay.

ONE GAY, ONE STRAIGHT: HOW INTIL TWS FEEL ABOUT THEIR DIFFERENT SEXUALITHE AMOUNT WE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN TWS N BE STAGGERG, WRE PHILLIP AND DOUGLAS GRIFFHS.DOUGLASEVER SCE WE WERE YOUNG, WE WERE SEPARABLE; BUT ALWAYS PETIVE AND TRYG TO BE DIFFERENT AT WHATEVER WE DID.FROM ATHLETICS TO SOCCER AND SCHOOL, WE WERE THE SAME BUT VERY DIFFERENT. WE FEEL THIS HAS NEVER REALLY CHANGED AS WE HAVE GROWN UP. PHILLIP STUDI MG ENGEERG WHILE I STUDY CIVIL ENGEERG.THROUGH OUR LIV WE HAVE ALWAYS BEEN GROUPED TOGETHER LIKE EVERY OTHER TW I ASSUME: “HOW ARE THE TWS?”, “THE TWS ARE OUTSI”. A LACKG SENSE OF DIVIDUALISM IS SOMETHG ALMOST EVERY TW HAS TO AL WH. ON OCSNS YOU'RE ED TO AND DON'T MATTER, BUT SOMETIM A MENT LIKE THAT N HAVE A REAL EFFECT.WHEN WE FISHED HIGH SCHOOL AND BEGAN UNIVERSY AT MONASH AND SWBURNE RPECTIVELY, WE BEGAN TO FD OUR OWN WAY WHOUT EACH OTHER FOR THE FIRST REAL TIME, MAKG DIFFERENT IENDS, ATTENDG DIFFERENT CLASS (ALTHOUGH STILL LEARNG THE MAJORY OF THE SAME THGS) AND WE BEGAN TO EXPERIENCE THAT DIVIDUALY WE CRAVED.I N ONLY THK THAT BROUGHT CLOSER. HAVG A TW IS WHOUT A DOUBT BETTER THAN NOT HAVG A TW, AND EVEN IF WE ARE GROUPED TOGETHER, I DON'T KNOW WHAT I WOULD DO WHOUT HIM.WHEN PHILLIP ME OUT TO ME THAT HE WAS HOMOSEXUAL, ME AS A LTLE B OF A SHOCK. WE WERE SO SIAR SO MANY WAYS, WAS HARD TO PICTURE THAT WE WERE SO DIFFERENT OUR SEXUAL PREFERENCE. BUT OM THE BEGNG, I WAS ACCEPTG. I KNEW THAT PHILLIP WAS EXACTLY THE SAME PERSON HE WAS WHEN I THOUGHT HE WAS STRAIGHT, AND HE IS STILL MY BT IEND. WHEN PHILLIP TOLD OUR IENDS ABOUT HIS PREFERENC, A LOT OF OUR IENDS WOULD E TO ME WH QUTNS OR TO JT TALK ABOUT , BUT OVERALL THEY WERE ALL ACCEPTG.WE WERE SO SIAR SO MANY WAYS, WAS HARD TO PICTURE THAT WE WERE SO DIFFERENT OUR SEXUAL PREFERENCE.WHEN TO TELLG OR TALKG WH NEW PEOPLE ABOUT THIS DIFFERENCE, THEY DIDN'T SEEM TO UNRSTAND AS MUCH AS OUR IENDS DID. THEY EHER DON'T BELIEVE , SAYG WE ACT THE SAME (SO ONE N'T BE GAY), OR WILL ASK ME, “IF YOUR TW IS GAY, WHY AREN'T YOU?”I UNRSTAND THAT THEY MAY BE CUR ABOUT MEETG TWS LIKE , BUT THE AMOUNT OF IGNORANCE AND LACK OF KNOWLEDGE ABOUT TWS - PARTICULARLY THAT TWS N BE DIFFERENT - IS STAGGERG.IT'S AN AMAZG EXPERIENCE TO KEEP LEARNG ABOUT OTHER TWS AND WH THAT, ABOUT MYSELF.PHILLIP (L) AND DOUGLAS (R) CHAT ABOUT LIFE AS A TW ON INSIGHT SOURCE: INSIGHTPHILLIPFROM BIRTH, WE WERE ALWAYS BT IENDS, WANTG TO EXPERIENCE NEW THGS LIFE TOGETHER. GROWG UP, THERE WERE TIM WE TRIED TO BE DIFFERENT AND HAVE OUR DIVIDUALY STEAD OF JT BEG “THE TWS”, BUT FOUND THAT WE WERE BT IENDS AND ULDN'T CHANGE THAT.EVEN HIGH SCHOOL WE ACTIVELY MA DIFFERENT IENDS. BUT THEN I GOT TO KNOW DOUG’S IENDS, AND HE GOT TO KNOW ME, AND OUR IENDS GOT TO KNOW EACH OTHER, AND TURNED OUT OUR IENDS WERE SO SIAR EVERYONE GOT TOGETHER. THE FACT THAT WE DID ALL THE SAME SUBJECTS, WORKED SO SIARLY AND ENJOYED THE SAME THGS WAS PROBABLY THE E FOR THAT.Y, WE WOULD FIGHT, AND WOULD GET TO VERY HEATED BAT, BUT WOULD TAKE ALMOST NO TIME FOR BOTH OF TO LGH AND REALISE WAS POTLS, WANTG TO APOLOGISE AND GET BACK TO TALKG BBISH.WHEN WE WERE BORN DOUGLAS, HAD HIS UMBILIL RD WRAPPED AROUND HIS NECK AND HAD TO BE TAKEN AWAY TO BE LOOKED AFTER. WHILE HE WAS GONE, I WAS SCRIBED AS BEG AGATED AND VISIBLY UPSET AND WASN'T UNTIL HE ME BACK TO THE ROOM THAT I PERKED UP. HE WAS REVERG - HE ATE FIRST - AND I FALLY STARTED TO EAT AFTER THE HOURS HE WAS AWAY.THIS ULD ALMOST BE THE START OF ME G DOUG AS MY TT DUMMY. I WOULD ALWAYS BE MORE OUTGOG AND WANTG TO TRY NEW THGS BUT WOULD BE TOO SHY OR SRED TO DO THEM MYSELF, SO I WOULD GET DOUG TO TRY THEM FIRST. WHETHER WAS GOG SWIMMG FOR THE FIRST TIME, PETTG A STRANGE DOG WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER OR JUMPG OFF THE 10M DIVG BOARD, I HAD TO MAKE SURE I WOULD BE SAFE BEFORE TRYG . OUR PARENTS EVEN SAY THAT ONCE I BROUGHT DOUG UP A SLI AND PHED HIM DOWN AGAST HIS WILL BEFORE TRYG MYSELF.PHYSILLY, WE’VE ALWAYS BEEN THE SAME, GETTG THE SAME PERSONAL BT OR JT MUTE DIFFERENC ATHLETICS WHEN WE WERE YOUNGER ALWAYS. ONCE, WHEN WE WERE ABOUT THE SAME AGE AND DNED FOR THE MOVIE “THREE DOLLARS”, THE DIRECTOR HAD TO FLIP A TO CI BETWEEN WHO WOULD GET THE ROLE.AFTER FISHG HIGH SCHOOL, I STARTED TO TAKE TIME TO ADDRS MY SEXUALY AND MY INTY. WHILE GOG THROUGH THIS, DOUG WAS ACTUALLY NOTICG SOMETHG WAS GOG THROUGH MY MD AND THAT I WASN'T ACTG MYSELF. AS SOON AS I ACCEPTED MYSELF, DOUG WAS THE FIRST PERSON I TOLD. AFTER TELLG HIM, I WAS MORE LIKE MYSELF AND AS I NEVER HID ANYTHG OM HIM. I FELT CLOSER TO DOUG AFTER THAT POT.WE GOT A LOT OF THE QUTNS LIKE, “AREN'T YOU BOTH GAY THEN?” OR “SO, ARE YOU ACTUALLY INTIL?”IT WAS FELY A SHOCK FOR HIM BUT HE WAS ALWAYS SUPPORTIVE AND BACKED ME EVERYTHG. WE GOT A LOT OF THE QUTNS LIKE, “AREN'T YOU BOTH GAY THEN?” OR “SO, ARE YOU ACTUALLY INTIL?” AND ALWAYS KNEW THAT THE WERE JT QUTNS BACKED BY LACK OF KNOWLEDGE/IGNORANCE. WE ARE DIFFERENT PEOPLE BUT LEANG AND HEARG ABOUT NEW KNOWLEDGE ON EPIGEICS AND HOW THEY MAKE DIFFERENT AND SIAR, EVEN THOUGH WE ARE 99.9% INTIL GEILLY, IS CREDIBLY TERTG.BEG A TW IS PROBABLY THE BT THG MY LIFE, AS DOUG IS MY BT IEND. HE HAS HELPED ME THROUGH EVERYTHG LIFE AND I HOPE I'LL ALWAYS BE THERE FOR HIM TOO. I WOULDN'T CHANGE A THG. INSIGHT, TWS PART 1 AND 2| CATCH-UP NOW ONLE: [VIORD VIO="634373187607"][VIORD VIO="639658051625"]MORE ON TWSHOW DO GEICS EXPLA NON-INTIL INTIL TWS?'UNEXPECTED SURG OF RELIEF': ONE REACTN TO THE ATH OF A TW BROTHERGEN PLAY A MAJOR PART VULNERABILY TO EATG DISORRS, PRSNSHAREFOLLOW INSIGHTFACEBOOKTWTERSTAGRAMYOUTUBEINSIGHT IS ATRALIA'S LEADG FOM FOR BATE AND POWERFUL FIRST-PERSON STORI OFFERG A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON THE WAY WE LIVE. READ MORE ABOUT INSIGHTWATCH NOWJO THE DIENCEHAVE A STORY OR MENT? CONTACT USINSIGHT IS ATRALIA'S LEADG FOM FOR BATE AND POWERFUL FIRST-PERSON STORI OFFERG A UNIQUE PERSPECTIVE ON THE WAY WE LIVE.WATCH NOWFOLLOW INSIGHTFACEBOOKTWTERSTAGRAMYOUTUBE6 M READPUBLISHED 15 MARCH 2016 3:13PMUPDATED 28 FEBARY 2020 2:31PMBY DOUGLAS GRIFFHS, PHILLIPSHARE THIS WH FAY AND IENDSCOPY LKSHAREREMEND FOR YOU

However, an adopted siblg of a gay person is also more likely to be gay (11 per cent one study), suggtg that the faial environment also plays a signifint role.

Ngun reported that studyg the geic material of 47 pairs of intil male tws, he has intified “epigeic marks” ne areas of the human genome that are strongly lked to male dividuals, said Ngun, the prence of the distct molecular marks n predict homosexualy wh an accuracy of close to 70%.

Geicists suggt that together, the human genome and s epigenome reflect the teractn of nature and nurture -- both our fixed herance and our bodi’ flexible rpons to the world -- makg who we ’s study of tws don’t reveal how or when a male tak on the epigenomic marks that distguish him as homosexual. ”To fd the epigenomic markers of male homosexualy, Ngun, a postdoctoral rearcher at UCLA’s Geffen School of Medice, bed through the geic material of 47 sets of intil male tws.

STRAIGHT AND GAY INTIL TWS COULD HELP US LEARN WHERE SEXUALY COM FROM

Thirty-seven of those tw sets were pairs which one was homosexual and the other was heterosexual. But the existence of tw pairs which one is homosexual and the other is not offers strong evince that somethg other than DNA alone fluenc sexual orientatn. So they unleashed a mache learng algorhm on the data to search for regulari that distguished the epigenom of homosexual tw-pairs om tws which only one was ne pact regns sttered across the genome, they found patterns of epigenomic differenc that would allow a predictn far more accurate than a random gus of an dividual’s sexual orientatn, Ngun reported Thursday.

McCarthy and other experts utned that the disvery of epigenomic marks suggtive of homosexualy is a far cry om fdg the of sexual distctive epigenomic marks observed by Ngun and his lleagu uld rult om some other blogil or liftyle factor mon to homosexual men but unrelated to their sexualy, said Universy of Utah geicist Christopher Gregg. Michael Bailey, who has explored a range of physlogil markers that pot to homosexualy’s origs the womb. But the existence of intil tw pairs which only one is homosexual “nclively suggt that gen don’t expla everythg, ” Bailey Ngun’s rearch needs to be replited larger studi of tws, advanc the fful procs of better unrstandg how — and when — a boy’s sexual orientatn velops, Bailey me on Twter @LATMelissaHealy and “like” Los Angel Tim Science & Health on rarely get ncer, now scientists thk they know whyThree rearchers w Nobel Prize chemistry for studi of DNA repairMars had a long-lastg seri of lak, NASA’s Cursy rover fds.

Havg a tw is whout a doubt better than not havg a tw, and even if we are grouped together, I don't know what I would do whout Phillip me out to me that he was homosexual, me as a ltle b of a shock. They eher don't believe , sayg we act the same (so one n't be gay), or will ask me, “If your tw is gay, why aren't you?

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS ON ‘GAY GENE’ STUDI

I felt closer to Doug after that got a lot of the qutns like, “Aren't you both gay then?

In some pairs of tws, both might intify as heterosexual, but one tw may not accurately disclose his/her homosexualy. Or, both tws uld be homosexual, but one tw may not disclose his or her same-sex preferenc.

Heterosexual men rpond substantially more to femal than mal, and homosexual men rpond substantially more to mal than femal5, 6, 7, 8; th, on average, genal aroal and pupil dilatn patterns verify men’s reported sexual of all sexual orientatns rpond, on average, wh some level of aroal to erotic stimuli reprentg eher sex. However, this effect is pecially mon heterosexual women, whereas homosexual women rpond somewhat more to the same sex than other sex.

STUDY: DNA OF INTIL TWS CAN REVEAL WHO'S GAY

The fdg that heterosexual women are non-specific their rpons to mal or femal, whereas homosexual women rpond more to their preferred sex, was nfirmed wh other measur, cludg reactn time, viewg time, nral activy, and thermography of genalia8, 14, 15, the extent that self-reported differenc intil tws’ sexual orientatns are accurate, their sexual rpons will be siar to those of most heterosexual and homosexual dividuals.

Hence, male pairs, we predicted that heterosexual tws would show substantially more sexual rpons to the other sex, whereas the homosexual -tws would show more aroal to the same sex.

In female pairs, we predicted that heterosexual tws would show siar sexual rpons to both sex, whereas their homosexual -tws would show somewhat stronger sexual rpons to the same sex than the other sex.

GAY AND BI INTIL TW BROTHERS THRIVE AS LLEGE ATHLET KENTUCKY

Furthermore, if tws’ sexual rpons reflect general sexual orientatn differenc, then their sexual rpons should be siar effect to the rpons seen unrelated heterosexual and homosexual dividuals. RultsSexual Aroal of Male TwsWe predicted that heterosexual male tws show stronger sexual rpons to the other sex, whereas their homosexual -tws rpond more strongly to the same sex.

Their homosexual -tws had signifintly more genal aroal to the same sex, p = 0. Heterosexual male tws had more genal aroal to the other sex, and their homosexual -tws showed more aroal to the same sex. Panel A picts 5 heterosexual tws and their 5 homosexual -tws, and panel B picts 94 unrelated heterosexual men and 97 unrelated homosexual men.

Their homosexual -tws also rpond signifintly to both sex, but somewhat more so to the same sex, p = 0.

IS BISEXUALY A PERSON’S GEICS, LIKE BEG GAY OR STRAIGHT?

Heterosexual male tws dilated more to the other sex, and their homosexual -tws dilated more to the same sex. Panel A picts 6 heterosexual tws and their 6 homosexual -tws, and panel B picts 123 unrelated heterosexual men and 136 unrelated homosexual men. For tws, penncy of data was acunted for by cludg pairs as a random size imageSexual Aroal of Female TwsWe predicted that heterosexual female tws show siar sexual rpons to both sex, but their homosexual -tws rpond more strongly to the same sex.

WHAT 'S LIKE BEG GAY AND NON-GAY INTIL TWS

Their homosexual female -tws also showed genal aroal to the same sex and other sex, each pared wh basele, although somewhat ls so for the latter, p = 0. In parison, their homosexual -tws showed somewhat more aroal to the same sex. Panel A picts 6 heterosexual tws and their 6 homosexual -tws, and panel B picts 77 unrelated heterosexual women and 44 unrelated homosexual women.

*BEAR-MAGAZINE.COM* IDENTICAL TWINS GAY AND STRAIGHT

STUDY: DNA of Intil Tws Can Reveal Who's Gay .

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