Why, Do You Know, Why Reasons

Do you know the 'why' reasons, or, do the 'whys' often bother you for scientific explanations? For instance, you do know that stars twinkle, but do you know the reasons why, and how? Or, do you know the 'why' reasons behind falling in love? Or, do you know the reasons why dogs bury bones? Probably many of you don’t! Why Corner – the 'why' blog, answers these 'whys' for basic knowledge, with real reasons for the 'why' facts. So, just know them all here if you have the 'why' urge, that is!

Feb 20, 2008

Do you know why people are straight or gay?

Prof. Know Why answers:

There has always been a debate about the reasons of a person’s sexual orientation - Is sexual orientation something people are born with or a matter of choice? Well, in the latest study that is bound to re-ignite the debate, it is weighed more on the side of genetics.

So, why are people straight or gay? Researchers at McMaster University and Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto have found new evidence that shows that your genes are what make you straight or gay. Led by neuroscientist Sandra Witelson, the study scanned the brains of healthy, right-handed homosexual and heterosexual men using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

A decade back, Witelson had demonstrated that there are more left-handers in the homosexual population. Handedness is a sign of how the brain is organized to represent different aspects of intelligence. Language, for example, is usually on the left and music on the right. In other researches, Witelson had also found that left-handers have a larger posterior corpus callosum (the band of nerve fibres connecting the two hemispheres of the brain) than right-handers.

This raised the hypothesis for the current study - whether the anatomy of the brain of the sub-group of right-handed homosexual men is similar to that of left-handers. The researchers found that the posterior part of the corpus callosum is larger in homosexual than heterosexual men. As the size of the corpus callosum is largely inherited, it suggested a genetic factor in sexual orientation.

“Our results do not mean that heredity is destiny, but they do indicate that environment is not the only player in the field,” said Witelson. The finding may be one additional piece of information for individuals trying to determine their sexual orientation as “sometimes people aren't sure of their sexual orientation”, added Witelson.

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3 comments:

Anonymous said...

haha~nice blog ,ok always stay cool

Anonymous said...

Of course it's genetics, it's not an illness that can be cured by psychotherapy or church. It's also time people realized this and got on with their own lives. Do you really think anyone would CHOOSE a lifestyle that comes with so much unhappiness given by so many ignorant people?

Anonymous said...

My friend! People, who are blessed with everything normal are never ever going to understand people who are not. Stupid human species like these, who unfortunately form the majority in our society can only feel the pain, if they are wounded themselves.

So just don't bother about these uneducated class of sophisticated section of so called human beings. Actually it's this class, who really need mercy!

Remember, my friend - it's your life! Live your life the way you feel happy. Let the strays bark. Just look down and pity on them!