Scientists Make Fruit Flies Gay, Then Straight Again

Scientists Make Fruit Flies Gay, Then Straight Again

www.foxnews.com

While several studies find homosexuality in humans and other animals is biological rather than learned, a question remains over whether it's a hard-wired phenomenon or one that can be altered.

A new study finds that both drugs and genetic manipulation can turn the homosexual behavior of fruit flies on and off within a matter of hours.

(visit the link for the full news article)

What a way to make a living. Make flys gay and then make them not gay. Where do they find time to do lunch?

www.foxnews.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Originally posted by Digital_Reality
a question remains over whether it's a hard-wired phenomenon or one that can be altered.

Both. (or should I say - either)

Question answered. We can all go on with our lives.

Seriously though. Interesting study. It could lead to inroads about prenatal chemical balances .. etc etc etc.

Or .. it could lead to nothing. Time will tell.

reply to post by FlyersFan


To stir the pot a little more ...

If they could also do this with humans, could/would straight parents have their children altered back to straight if they detected gay traits in them while under the age of 18?

Conversely, would gay "parents" alter their adopted straight children to be gay while under the age of 18 in a bid to raise their children "in their own image"?

I see a very slippery slope starting to form on this issue.

wow, this puts a completely different spin on the concept of a date rape drug. Glad I don't drink! Imagine going to a club straight, and leaving gay because someone slipped something in your drink.

Govt control - they are changing all of us to stem population growth.

I dont see the point, would it really change a flies life in how a fly is a fly


I mean the only difference between straights and gays is sexual attraction


thats like saying scientists made flys black and white and started a racist fly

its pointless really

Originally posted by MurderCityDevil
the only difference between straights and gays is sexual attraction

do you have a source for that statement, or is it a personal opinion?

Originally posted by scientist

Originally posted by MurderCityDevil
the only difference between straights and gays is sexual attraction

do you have a source for that statement, or is it a personal opinion?

there the dictionary

homosexual

adjective
1. sexually attracted to members of your own sex

there, gay population eat, drink, work, live breathe just like anyone or any race, not much difference at all

Lets just hope these fruity flies don't escaped from the lab. Who knows what havoc they may cause. The insect world is gonna have a makeover!

its always funny to me that there is still some huge mass hysteria about people who are gay

it reminds me of a sticker i saw

Homophobia: insecurity about being heterosexual


oh I laugh at that all the time, so hilarious

I think sexuality is probably a couple orders of magnitude more complex in humans than in fruit flies.

Still I'm sure there is a strong biological component to it, after all sexual preference, like any other aspect of personality, is largely determined by the physiology of the brain.

Oh great.. they are working on ways to change gays straight.

Or they are working on ways to eventually take a percentage of newborns and alter them so that the explosive population growth will slow.

I see more than a slippery slope here... I see a rapid descent into hell. Too many scenarios that look very bad from where I am sitting.

As for parents being allowed to choose for their children... *twitch* The mere thought makes me cringe.

Editted to add this...

Can you imagine the scientist who did this going home the day it happened and answering his/her spouse when asked how the day was? "It was awesome hun! I made that fly I told you about, the one I call LuLu, gay! And then in a just a matter of hours, I turned her back straight!"

VV

[edit on 11/12/07 by ValhallasValkyrie]

Originally posted by scientist
Imagine going to a club straight, and leaving gay because someone slipped something in your drink.

Or someone put alcohol in your drink! Hey, what happens in college stays in college, right?

I don't think these fruit fly studies can be compared to humans at all. They said the flies even attempted to copulate. As they are flies, to them the only purpose in mating is reproduction. In humans, reproduction is only one, relatively infrequent motive in sex. Gay humans know having sex will not result in conception, so the sole purposes are physical pleasure and emotional bonding. Therefore the nature of the fruit flies' homosexuality is entirely different than the nature of human homosexuality. Almost as if the flies were just really, really confused.