A genetic analysis of almost half a million people concluded there is no single ‘gay gene’ and genetic factors only accounted for between 8-25% of same-sex behaviour.
The study undertaken by Harvard and MIT researches, published in Science, used data from the UK Biobank and 23andMe, and found some genetic variants associated with same-sex relationships. Five specific genetic variants were found to be particularly associated with same-sex behaviour. Together they only accounted for under 1% of samesex behaviour. The researchers scanned the entire genetic make-up of 409,000 people. Participants were asked whether they had same-sex partners exclusively, or as well as opposite-sex partners.
Not conclusive?
Despite the research showing that something other than biology at birth determines between 75% and 92% of same-sex behaviour, commentators were in denial. David Curtis, honorary professor at the UCL Genetics Institute, University College London, said: ‘Even if homosexuality is not genetically determined, as this study shows, that does not mean that it is not in some way an innate and indispensable part of an individual’s personality.’
