Posted on 08/13/2005 2:13:34 PM PDT by Uncle Joe Cannon
Homosexual rams hint at origin of sex preferences
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
CORVALLIS, Ore. -- Researchers at Oregon State University think that new studies showing that about 8 percent of rams are "male-oriented" have the potential to help explain sexuality in other mammals, including humans.
The findings, by researchers at Oregon State, Oregon Health & Science University and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Sheep Experiment Station, suggest that homosexuality may be biologically driven, a hot topic in the perennial "nature vs. nurture" debate.
The study began in 1995, when researchers at the federal Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho, noticed that some rams refused to mate with female sheep. Of these animals, some showed no interest in males or females, and a fraction preferred to mount other rams.
In rams who like other rams, the anterior preoptic area of the hypothalamus was about half the size of this part of the brain in heterosexual rams, he said.
"This was exciting to us because this area of the brain has been found in many species to regulate sexual behavior," Fred Stormshak, distinguished professor of animal science at Oregon State and an investigator on the project, told The Gazette-Times of Corvallis.
The investigation also targeted aromatase activity in the hypothalamus. Aromatase is an enzyme that converts androgens such as testosterone into estrogens such as estradiol. In male mammals, estrogen causes masculinization of the brain during gestation.
According to Roselli, the team hypothesized that low levels of aromatase in the brain of the developing fetus somehow keep it from becoming fully masculinized.
"For some reason, and we don't know why, these male-oriented rams aren't completely masculinized during the sexual differentiation process. So their sexual preferences are more like a female than a male," he said.
Rams also like to run smash each other on the head with their antlers. Should we teach our children to emulate this behavior as well?
Jesus said: "And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? Wherefore, they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder." -from THE BIBLE: Matthew 19:4-6
Just how much (or little) Aromatase did you get when you were a kid?
That may have been the case in LA but I think that they've sot of been cleaning up their act in St. Louis-except maybe for Martz.
Evidence that homosexuality is a birth defect? Will March of Dimes raise money to help stamp it out?
They're not antlers. Rams have horns.
I knew there was something wrong with that team.
The subject title leaves doubt as to whether ram is a verb or a noun.
Any rams express interest in catching?
Sheep, queers, farm-boys, shepherds, Bedouin Arabs...explains a lot about something. I'm just not sure what. At least the sheep dogs are straight.
I'm a Ram fan, and I can say with authority that those 8% are the ones who get cut every year.
It's hard to take such a study seriously ... so I won't.
Except to point out the obvious .... sexuality plays a slightly different role in human culture than it does in the rest of the animal world where it is purely instinctive. To frame questions of human sexual behavior in purely biological or animalistic terms is to miss the mark completely. You've already defined the set of possible answers by the question you've asked.
Should we all mount (little play on words there) :o) a
campaign to legalize marriage between homosexual sheep?
"Did I hear someone use the words 'homosexual' and 'ram' in the same sentence, just now...?"
I gotta believe that, over the years, any ram that was seen to have a preference for other rams went right to the top of the list for the next sabbath's burnt offering. Non-productive livestock are for sacrifice or dinner.
...some rams refused to mate with female sheep. Of these animals, some showed no interest in males or females, and a fraction preferred to mount other rams.
OK - is the "fraction" a fraction of the 8%, or is the 8% the "fraction"?
Very poor writing here. It looks like someone's not being objective and is trying to push their agenda. If the "fraction" is a fraction of 8%, just how big is the "fraction"?
1%? - .5%? - .02%?
It's impossible to tell from this poorly written article.
That it is a birth defect is the inescapable conclusion.
This can't be very welcome news to the gays because their claim is that homosexuality is perfectly normal.
This evidence puts it right up there with deafness, cleft palett, and blindness, and other defects, with a clear biological defect resulting in specific behaviors.
Preferences, eh? Doesn't that indicate that a choice has been made? I always thunk the homosexual crowd dismissed the idea that homosexual activity is a choice.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.