By Charles Butts & Jody Brown
The public is being cautioned not to place a great deal of faith in a new study that suggests the existence of a “gay gene.” Observers may also want to consider the source: a researcher who himself is gay.
Dr. Tuck Ngun reported to the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics last week that his research has resulted in the ability to predict sexual orientation of males. “Epigenetic Algorithm Accurately Predicts Male Sexual Orientation” reads the Society’s press release, adding “with up to 70 percent accuracy” in the first paragraph.
Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth About Homosexuality points out that Ngun conducts research for the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA – and suggests why observers should be cautious of this particular study.
“David Geffen, a homosexual activist, gave a donation – probably a very, very large one – to UCLA, and they end up studying the gay gene, looking for the gay gene,” he tells OneNewsNow. “And now they say they’ve found something with 70-percent accuracy that could predict it.”
Fox News reports that genetics experts are warning the research has important limitations, notably the small sample size: 47 sets of identical male twins – 37 of which consisted of one homosexual and one heterosexual, and 10 of two homosexuals.
LaBarbera says it’s another in a string of studies claiming to prove the existence of a homosexual gene – but he says homosexual activists shouldn’t get excited.
“You know, there’s a really strong desire of the homosexual lobby to say that this is not a moral issue, that people are not responsible, that homosexual behavior is not a sin. There’s a strong, strong need to justify their immoral lifestyle,” he states. “I think that’s what these studies are all about.”
The UCLA study has not been replicated and proven. When other studies claiming a homosexual gene have gone through that process, they have been debunked. In addition, Ngun presented only an abstract at the conference – not a published paper.
According to New Scientist, Ngun abandoned his research the week before the conference, fearing his findings could be used to identify and punish individuals for being homosexual. “I don’t believe in the censoring of knowledge,” he is quoted as saying, “but given the potential for misuse of the information, it just didn’t sit well with me.”
Ngun identifies himself as “Big gay nerd” on the Google+ social network. The data researcher also has posted numerous photos and videos from various “gay pride” events on Google+.
This article was originally posted at OneNewsNow.com
