Human

Do Genes Influence Homosexuality? Study Says Yes

Kathleen Lees
First Posted: Nov 17, 2014 02:04 PM EST

Another study shows that homosexuality may hold a genetic component. 

This large study looked at 800 gay brothers and how their genes influenced their chance of being gay. While the results are in no way concrete evidence of a genetic link, many researchers believe it's a good indication, according to lead study author Dr. Alan Sanders of the Northshore University HealthSystem Research Institute in Evanston, Illinois. 

"[Being gay] is sort of like having certain eye color or skin color - it's just who you are,' said study participant Dr. Chad Zawitz, a Chicago physician, via the Associated Press (AP). "Most heterosexuals I know didn't choose to be heterosexual. It's puzzling to me why people don't understand."

However, not all medical officials agree. According to Neil Risch, a genetic's expert at the University of California, San Francisco, he said he believes that the data is too statistically weak to many any complete connections.

A 2014 Gallup poll also recently noted that approximately 42 percent of Americans believe that people do not chose whether or not they are gay. In other words, sexual orientation is something people are born with.

See Now: NASA's Juno Spacecraft's Rendezvous With Jupiter's Mammoth Cyclone

TagsHuman

More on SCIENCEwr