Brokeback Pharma
Please note: As some of you may have noticed, we’ve been having some problems getting our blog up on its regular site (http://bpblog.avelient.com) over the last week. This is partially due to some upgrades that are being applied to our blogging software and a new look we’re planning for release soon. As a result, this blog may be periodically unavailable as we test some new configurations and bring it up to date. If you have any questions or comments, please post them here or email me at mariano.difabio@avelient.com. The new and improved blog should be up and running fully as of January 4th. Thanks for your patience!
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On Thursday, I was listening to the latest podcast edition of one of my favorite NPR radio shows, Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me. As usual, the show was quite entertaining, and as with the material for my “Mighty Mice?” article, it provided me with some thought-provoking topics that I considered for further research in my blog post for today. Specifically, they mentioned a new study currently being conducted at University of Illinois at Chicago where it was shown that homosexuality in fruit flies could be turned on and off in a matter of hours through use of a drugs or genetic manipulation. Obviously, this was too interesting a topic for me to leave alone, so when I returned home I investigated it further.
The gene responsible for this behavior, which the research team is calling “genderblind” or GB, is in charge of transporting the neurotransmitter glutamate to brain cells in the human body. This chemical can have an indirect but key effect on human and animal behavior, because its level dictates the strength of nerve cell junctions, or synapses in the brain.(1) In the study, researcher David Featherstone says the effect was “very dramatic,” saying that the treated male flies behaved as if their untreated counterparts were female, with some even attempting copulation.(2)
Based on this research, the team hypothesized that the GB mutants may be demonstrating their homosexual behavior because of the alterations to glutamatergic synapses in their brain. Sure enough, altering synapse strength both genetically and through drugs produced the same result as the files that had their GB gene altered.
But why would this particular type of synapse strength cause such a dramatic change in sexual behavior? The researchers believe it’s related to how the brain of the flies interpret the sexual scents of the animal kingdom, pheromones. Altered flies with strengthened glutamtergic synapses displayed homosexual tendencies because they were no longer repulsed by the male pheromones emitted by their unaltered male counterparts. The results are consistent with a study done in 2005 that showed the brains of gay men and straight women reacting similarly to the scent of a chemical derived from testosterone. (3)
After completing the article, I found myself with more questions than answers. Clearly, the intent of the study was to provide evidence as to whether homosexuality is a learned or genetic behavior. Based on the results as I’ve summarized here, it seems the team has offered further proof of the latter argument. However, what kind of debate will be opened up if this study is to continue? Will this lead to further and further testing that will perhaps lead to a drug that will allow humans to turn “off” their homosexuality?
If such a drug is developed, what kind of impact will it have on the gay and lesbian communities? These groups have become so prevalent in the United States and even the world, would such a study undermine their ability to have a voice, because a cure would indicate that there is something “wrong” with them? And how profound an effect would such a change have on their very identity? How much turmoil would it cause if the accepting families of gay and lesbian men and women were to discover that their loved one could be changed to be more like them? Would transgenderism be the next target because it’s socially less acceptable than heterosexual relationships?
I don’t deny that I find this article interesting, but I question how far the study should be interpreted, and whether understanding or alteration is the ultimate goal. How do you feel about this study? If you’re openly homosexual, would you welcome the opportunity to become heterosexual? Would you feel the need to succumb to any pressure from your family? What about a heterosexual person? Would you be curious about the prospect of feeling homosexual?
As always, I welcome your input and your comments.
(1) See “Scientists Make Fruit Flies Gay, Then Straight Again,” www.foxnews.com, Robert Roy Britt, December 11, 2007.
(2) See (1).
(3) See (1).
