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"GAY GENE" DISPROVEN AGAIN

New research from the University of Western Ontario (UWO) in London, published in today's issue of Science magazine, has again disproved the existence of a genetic basis for homosexuality. In 1993, a team led by Dean Hamer of the US National Institute of Health (NIH) claimed to have found evidence for a "gay gene" by studying the X chromosomes of 40 pairs of homosexual brothers. In an attempt to replicate Hammer's findings, Dr. George Rice and his team looked at 52 pairs of gay brothers and found no evidence for a "gay gene."

"It is unclear why our results are so discrepant from the original study," said the UWO research team strongly (for a scientific journal) implying mistakes in the original study. Hammer and other pro-gay-gene theorists immediately dismissed the Rice study despite the fact that it was based on a larger number of people.

They demanded more studies in an attempt to find the gene they are looking for, conveniently failing to mention that other studies exist that have also failed to find the desired genetic link to homosexual behaviour.

Although not mentioned by most of the media outlets, Rice's research is the second known study to find no evidence for Hammer's hypothesis. In June of last year, LifeSite reported on an attempt to replicate Hammer's findings by Dr. Allan Sanders, also of NIH. Sanders' study was presented on June 1, 1998 at the American Psychiatric Association's annual conference in Toronto buried in a pile of hundreds of other presentations. It found no evidence for a "gay gene," and was mentioned in a short article in the June 2, 1998 issue of the Globe and Mail.

See the Science journal's news on the finding at:
http://www.academicpress.com/inscight/04221999/grapha.htm

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