Free Republic

ABSTRACT Male and female homosexuality have substantial prevalence in humans. Pedigree and twin studies indicate that homosexuality has substantial heritability in both sexes, yet concordance between identical twins is low and molecular studies have failed to find associated DNA markers. This paradoxical pattern calls for an explanation. We use published data on fetal androgen signaling and gene regulation via nongenetic changes in DNA packaging (epigenetics) to develop a new model for homosexuality. reduced androgen sensitivity in XX fetuses and enhanced sensitivity in XY fetuses, and that this difference is most feasibly caused by numerous sex-specific epigenetic modifications (“epi-marks”) originating in...

A large gap exists between the public's perception of video games and what the research actually shows. The following is an attempt to separate fact from fiction. 1. The availability of video games has led to an epidemic of youth violence. According to federal crime statistics, the rate of juvenile violent crime in the United States is at a 30-year low. Researchers find that people serving time for violent crimes typically consume less media before committing their crimes than the average person in the general population. It's true that young offenders who have committed school shootings in America have also...

A 6,000-acre wildfire in the Kernville area has burned down six homes, forced evacuations and prompted road closures. About 700 crew members from the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management and Kern County Fire Department were on scene Tuesday evening, just over 24 hours after the "Bull Fire" broke out near Bull Run Road. ______ Click here to read more on this story and to see a gallery of photos from the "Bull Fire." Many of the photos were sent in by Eyewitness News viewers..... http://kernrivervalley.bakersfieldnow.com/content/kernville-wildfire-grows-6000-acres

Texas legislators have cleared the way for schools to teach--not preach--the Bible,......

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo (R-Littleton) introduced legislation today that would effectively move the United Nations headquarters out of the United States. The legislation is being introduced amid incessant anti-American and anti-Jewish political grandstanding from the podium of the General Assembly. “The U.N. has coddled brutal dictators, anti-Semites, state sponsors of terrorism, and nuclear proliferators – while excluding democratic countries from membership and turning a blind eye to humanitarian tragedies and gross violations of human rights around the globe,” Tancredo said. “The U.N.’s continued presence in the United States is an embarrassment to our nation, and the time has come for...