Quote:England’s churches are empty, their tiny congregations consist mainly of the elderly whilst the buildings themselves are looked upon as monuments – memorials to a tradition that some would say had outlived its usefulness. In its place there is a new God, an almighty God whose word is accepted virtually without question and whose name is Science.

Most of us have been brought up to believe that there is no body of thought more dependable than modern science. This belief system originated in the brilliant scientific discoveries of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries; Newton’s explanation of the fundamental laws of physics made the Old Testament’s description of creation seem rather quaint and obscure. Scientific medicine has beaten back the traditional killer diseases such as cholera, TB, Bubonic Plague and Typhus; whilst even the endemic tropical diseases such as malaria, Yellow Fever and the Tsetse fly have fallen under the control of modern science. Add to that the fact that modern conveniences such as electric power, effective plumbing systems and motorcars have transformed the lives of millions and it’s easy to see why science has achieved such authority.

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A pride march in Belgrade last month. Scientists warn that the new findings should not be used to produce a test or “cure” for homosexuality.
A pride march in Belgrade last month. Scientists warn that the new findings should not be used to produce a test or “cure” for homosexuality.
AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic
Homosexuality may be caused by chemical modifications to DNA
By Michael BalterOct. 8, 2015 , 9:45 AM
“Baby, I was born this way,” Lady Gaga sang in a 2011 hit that quickly became a gay anthem. Indeed, over the past 2 decades, researchers have turned up considerable evidence that homosexuality isn't a lifestyle choice, but is rooted in a person's biology and at least in part determined by genetics. Yet actual “gay genes” have been elusive.

A new study of male twins, scheduled for presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) in Baltimore, Maryland, today, could help explain that paradox. It finds that epigenetic effects, chemical modifications of the human genome that alter gene activity without changing the DNA sequence, may have a major influence on sexual orientation.

The new work, from Eric Vilain's lab at the University of California (UC), Los Angeles, is “exciting” and “long overdue,” says William Rice, an evolutionary geneticist at UC Santa Barbara, who proposed in 2012 that epigenetics plays a role in sexual orientation. But Rice and others caution that the research is still preliminary and based on a small sample.