對50萬人的研究未能發(fā)現(xiàn)特定的“同性戀基因”

After comparing differences in the DNA of just under half a million people, an international team of scientists has concluded it's impossible to predict a person's sexual preference based on their genes.

在比較了將近50萬人的DNA差異后，一個國際科學(xué)家小組得出結(jié)論，根據(jù)一個人的基因來預(yù)測他的性偏好是不可能的。

That doesn't mean our unique combinations of genetic codes aren't involved in the development of our sexuality. But if you were hoping for a simple explanation for why many of us are attracted to members of the same sex, it's time to move on.

這并不意味著我們獨特的基因密碼組合與我們性行為的發(fā)展無關(guān)。但是，如果你想簡單解釋為什么我們中的許多人會被同性所吸引，那么是時候往下看了。
For decades, biologists have hunted for some kind of 'gay gene' signature that might help better explain our innate sexual predilections.

幾十年來，生物學(xué)家一直在尋找某種“同性戀基因”的特征，這可能有助于更好地解釋我們天生的性偏好。

While we've abandoned the idea that a single gene might be solely responsible for our passions, studies on families and twins have provided tantalising signs that our DNA might at least lay out the groundwork for our attractions.

雖然我們已經(jīng)放棄了單一基因可能對我們的激情負(fù)全責(zé)的想法，但對家庭和雙胞胎的研究已經(jīng)提供了誘人的跡象，表明我們的DNA至少可以為我們的吸引力奠定基礎(chǔ)。

Unfortunately many of those studies have been based on unconvincing sample sizes, or haven't met current standards of genome-wide studies to be significant.

不幸的是，這些研究中的許多都是基于難以信服的樣本量，或者還沒有達(dá)到當(dāng)前基因組研究的重要標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。

So researchers pooled data on 477,522 records from the UK Biobank and the genetic reporting service 23andMe to identify sequences common to people who could be classed as either heterosexual or non-heterosexual.

因此，研究人員匯集了來自英國生物銀行和基因報告服務(wù)機構(gòu)23andme的477522份記錄的數(shù)據(jù)，以確定那些可以被歸類為異性戀或非異性戀的人所共有的序列。

The team based their results on a measure of whether or not an individual had ever had sex with a person of the same sex, which in the case of the UK Biobank was 4.1 percent of males and 2.8 percent of females.

該研究小組的研究結(jié)果是基于一個人是否曾與同性發(fā)生過性關(guān)系的衡量標(biāo)準(zhǔn)得出的。在英國生物銀行的調(diào)查中，有4.1%的男性和2.8%的女性曾與同性發(fā)生過性關(guān)系。 Our sexual preferences don't always fall neatly into boxes, of course. That said, given the constraints of these kinds of surveys, it's not unreasonable to treat human sexuality as more categorical than a smooth continuum, at least for statistical purposes.

當(dāng)然，我們的性取向并不總是一成不變的。也就是說，考慮到這類調(diào)查的局限性，將人類的性行為視為一個更明確的分類，而不是一個平滑的連續(xù)體，至少在統(tǒng)計目的上是合理的。

An analysis of whole genomes between these two groups revealed five locations on our chromosomes that are significantly associated with same-sex sexual behaviours. Thousands of other sequences were also implicated to a lesser extent.

對這兩組之間的整個基因組的分析顯示，我們?nèi)旧w上的五個位置與同性性行為顯著相關(guān)。數(shù)千個其他序列也在較小程度上受到牽連。

Some of those flagged genes have already been linked with biological functions such as hormonal pathways or ovulation, making it all too tempting to treat those variations as the kinds of genes that predispose us to a specific sexuality.

其中一些標(biāo)記的基因，已經(jīng)與諸如激素途徑或排卵等生物學(xué)功能聯(lián)系在一起，這使得人們很容易把這些變異，視為使我們傾向于某種特定性別的基因。

But we do need to put it all into context: On closer inspection, aggregates of such sequences accounted for just 8 to 25 percent of the contrast in sexuality. More importantly, combinations of these genes couldn't be used to predict any individual's sexual behaviour.

但我們確實需要把這一切都放在背景中:仔細(xì)觀察一下，這些序列的總和只占性別對比的8%到25%。更重要的是，這些基因的組合不能用來預(yù)測任何個體的性行為。

That doesn't mean such genes can't play a role in our biology. In fact, it's hoped that identifying these sequences might help inform future research into social behaviours.

這并不意味著這些基因不能在我們的生物學(xué)中發(fā)揮作用。事實上，人們希望識別這些序列，可能有助于將來對社會行為的研究。


What it does mean is we're a long way off being able to pin down the odds of your sexuality based on combinations of genes you happen to possess. In what should come as little surprise by now, sexuality is a hugely complex behaviour that emerges from the interplay of different genes

它的真正含義是，我們離能夠根據(jù)你碰巧擁有的基因組合，來確定你性取向的幾率，還有很長的一段路要走。到目前為止，性是一種非常復(fù)雜的行為，它是由不同的基因相互作用而產(chǎn)生的。

Based on the researcher's findings, these specific clusters also happen to differ between the sexes. While many shared conditions and behaviours have a relatively high amount of overlap in the associated genes between men and women, there's relatively little similarity when it comes to the genetic architecture of sexuality.

根據(jù)研究者的發(fā)現(xiàn)，這些特定的群體在性別上也有差異。雖然許多共同的條件和行為，在男女之間的相關(guān)基因上有相對較高的重疊，但在性的遺傳結(jié)構(gòu)上，卻沒有相對的相似性。

The team also compared the sequences associated with sexuality with 28 other traits previously linked with non-heterosexual activity, including mental health conditions such as anxiety and more physical characteristics, such as height and birth weight.

研究小組還將與性有關(guān)的序列，與28個以前與非異性戀活動有關(guān)的其他特征進行了比較，其中包括焦慮等心理健康狀況，以及身高和出生體重等更多的身體特征。

None of the physical characteristics stood out, but a handful of mental health and personality traits – such as anxiety, and loneliness – showed a small but significant genetic correlation.

這些生理特征都不突出，但一些心理健康和個性特征——如焦慮和孤獨——顯示出微小但顯著的遺傳相關(guān)性。
The researchers are quick to point out that culture might have a lot to answer for when it comes to challenges to mental health.

研究人員很快指出，當(dāng)涉及到對心理健康的挑戰(zhàn)時，文化可能有很多需要回答的問題。

"We emphasise that the causal processes underlying these genetic correlations are unclear and could be generated by environmental factors relating to prejudice against individuals engaging in same-sex sexual behaviour, among other possibilities," the team writes.

研究小組寫道:“我們強調(diào)，這些基因關(guān)聯(lián)背后的因果過程尚不清楚，可能是由環(huán)境因素造成的，環(huán)境因素與對從事同性性行為的個體的偏見有關(guān)，還有其他可能性。”

This very prejudice has also plagued the history of searching for links between the hard wiring of our biology and our sexuality, framing sexual and gender diversity as a disease to be cured or shunned.

這種偏見也一直困擾著在我們的生物學(xué)和性之間尋找聯(lián)系的歷史，將性和性別多樣性定義為一種需要治愈或避免的疾病。

Times are changing, and so is the science.

時代在變化，科學(xué)也在變。

Sorting the rainbow of genes that plays a role in our sexual interests is no longer about trying to find simple explanations for 'aberrant' behaviours, but rather better understanding how the evolution of such a complex array of sexualities makes us all so very human.

對在我們性興趣中起作用的基因彩虹進行分類，不再是試圖尋找“異常”行為的簡單解釋，而是更好地理解如此復(fù)雜的一系列性現(xiàn)象的進化，是如何讓我們變得如此人性化。

"We wish to make it clear that our results overwhelmingly point toward the richness and diversity of human sexuality," the researchers write.

研究人員寫道：“我們希望清楚地表明，我們的研究結(jié)果，絕大多數(shù)地指向了人類性行為的豐富性和多樣性。”

This research was published in Science.

這項研究發(fā)表在《科學(xué)》雜志上。