“There might be thousands of genes influencing same-sex sexual behavior, each playing a small role, scientists believe.
The new study found that all genetic effects likely account for about 32 percent of whether someone will have same-sex sex.
Using a big-data technique called genome-wide association, the researchers estimated that common genetic variants — single-letter differences in DNA sequences — account for between 8 percent and 25 percent of same-sex sexual behavior. The rest of the 32 percent might involve genetic effects they could not measure, they said.
“‘I hope that the science can be used to educate people a little bit more about how natural and normal same-sex behavior is,’” said Benjamin Neale, a geneticist at the Broad Institute of M.I.T. and Harvard and one of the lead researchers on the international team. “‘It’s written into our genes and it’s part of our environment. This is part of our species and it’s part of who we are.
“‘I deeply disagree about publishing this,’” said Steven Reilly, a geneticist and postdoctoral researcher who is on the steering committee of the institute’s L.G.B.T.Q. affinity group, Out@Broad. “‘It seems like something that could easily be misconstrued,’” he said, adding, “‘In a world without any discrimination, understanding human behavior is a noble goal, but we don’t live in that world.
Scientists were also unable to use their findings to predict how respondents in unrelated data sets would respond to questions about sex.
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