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The gene that causes transsexuality was discovered

Researchers from Australia identified a significant relationship between the length of the gene responsible for testosterone activity and male-to-female transsexuality and the tendency

The cover of the issue of the journal biologica psychiatry
The cover of the issue of the journal biologica psychiatry

The largest genetic study of Australian transsexuals who have transitioned or are seeking to transition from male to female has found that there is a significant link between gender identity and a gene involved in testosterone activity. From a young age, people develop an inner sense of being a man or a woman - their gender identity. Transsexuals identify themselves with the opposite sex instead of with the identity that corresponds to their gender."

A gene analysis of 112 volunteer transsexuals - who underwent sex change from male to female, showed that they were more likely to possess the longer version of the androgen receptor gene. The genetic difference may result in weaker testosterone signals, the team reported in the journal Biological Psychiatry.
However, other genes also play a role, they say. This study accumulates with other studies that show that biological factors have an effect on sexual identity.

"Our study showed that certain brain structures in transsexuals who have become or are seeking to become male to female are more feminine," they write.
In the study, the researchers looked for potential differences in three genes known to be involved in sexual development - those encoding the androgen receptors, the estrogen receptors and an enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen.

Comparing the DNA of male-to-female transsexuals, in which 258 people participated, including a control group, showed a significant association between having a long version of the androgen receptor gene and transsexualism.

Even before the experiment it was known that the long version of the androgen receptor gene is accompanied by less effective testosterone signaling. The reduced activity of the male sex hormone may affect the development of the fetus in the womb, estimates researcher Lauren Hair from the Prince Henry Institute for Medical Research. The second researcher involved in the study added: There is a social stigma according to which transsexuality is simply a lifestyle choice, but our findings support the biological basis of the question of how gender identity develops."

Although this is the most comprehensive genetic study on transsexuality to date, the researchers plan to see if the same results can be obtained on a much larger population. Terry Reid of the Society for Gender Identity Research says she is convinced there is a biological basis for transsexuality. "The study seems to reinforce previous studies that identified this fact, in some transsexuals, there may be a genetic trigger for the development of an indeterminate sexual identity. "However, it is possible that this is only one of several channels, although it seems likely that the biological component will always be present in the etiology of transsexuality, it is unlikely that the developmental path will be the same for all transsexuals.

For information on the website of the Prince Henry Institute in Australia

For a news item on an Australian news site

7 תגובות

  1. Sharon:
    You probably don't understand what transsexuality is.
    A transsexual is someone who changes their gender.
    Animals do not have the ability to conduct and they are not able to express their wishes to us.
    In general, many animals do not form a sense of identity for themselves at all, including not a sense of sexual identity either.
    It is interesting to note that there is a different type of transsexuality in animals - for example, there are fish that under certain conditions change their gender - but they do not do so as a result of a sense of sexual identity or desire - it is simply a natural characteristic of those types of fish.

    point:
    It is true that certain behaviors should be condemned even if they are "imposed" on the person by his character and genes, but transsexuality is not a behavior that causes damage to the environment and therefore should not be condemned.
    Here Sharon was right when he said that the attitude towards transsexuality expresses an (evil) intolerance of difference.

  2. For Sharon, socially (= morally) one cannot justify such and other actions on the grounds that it is forced upon him. Society can only waive such acts if they have been done in the past, but if it is about the character of the person, (for example a person who was born bad (sociopath)) the society must distance and vomit that person out of it. The possibility of society to change its definitions of good and bad is always given and facts of one kind or another do not justify such changes.

  3. Indeed yes, my father. I wonder if there is a model in Beh for transsexuality.
    Even in dead humans it is difficult to perform an experiment that links molecular biology to behavior :).
    Nevertheless, a correlative experiment will always be an incomplete experiment. An article that would have shown causality would have been published, I suppose, in a more reputable newspaper.
    In any case, there is at least a hint here, which joins many others about the level of ignorance and evil in which most people treat those who are different from them. A hint that our behavior is partly a genetic necessity. Too bad.

  4. to Sharon The researchers are aware of this and are trying to conduct a more extensive experiment. However, it is very difficult to conduct an experiment linking molecular biology with behavior in living humans.

  5. The main weakness of the article is that it is only correlative. It is also necessary to show causality in order to turn saying a true scientific statement into an experiment that links molecular biology with behavior.

  6. Interesting and important. Hope the research will continue and develop. At this point, I prefer to treat him with suspicion and not draw far-reaching lessons from him.

    Greetings friends,
    Ami Bachar

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