New Develop to Identify Whether Man is Homosexual or Heterosexual

Researchers have developed a new test that can help identify whether a man is homosexual or heterosexual. They said that methylation patterns in nine small regions can be used to predict sexual orientation of a man with 70% accuracy. The findings of the study have been presented at a meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics in Baltimore.

Christopher Gregg, assistant professor of neurobiology, anatomy and human genetics at the University of Utah in the US, said “the study appears to have identified candidates for further investigation and an epigenetic signature that has a few predictive utility in twins”. Tuck Ngun, a postdoctoral researcher at UCLA’s Geffen School of Medicine, said the new study is the first example of a predictive model for sexual orientation based on molecular markers.

The study revolves around a set of chemical marks, epigenome, that lie between human genes and turns them on or off in response to certain stimuli. Researchers combed through the genetic material of 37 pairs of identical male twins in order to find the epigenomic markers of male homosexuality. Out of 37 pairs of identical male twins, one was homosexual and one heterosexual and 10 sets of twins in which both males were homosexual. They even analyzed the patterns of DNA methylation to identify the missing factor in partner preference.

Researchers found only 20% of identical twins are homosexual, which indicates DNA alterations as potential influencer for sexual orientation. Till now, many studies have identified broader regions of chromosomes that are involved in sexual orientation, but the new study defines these areas down to the base pair level, said Ngun.