What does gay look like?

[curious_guy (imported)]

Which is why locked away in a vault deep underground there exists deadly viruses just waiting for the chance to escape and kill off all life on this planet... most of them were man-made because some scientist was bored and curious.

- snoopy

I was not aware that there are any deadly man-made viruses. Can you tell me the source of this information?

[Waka Gashira (imported)]

A thought;

Perhaps if more study is done, this could become part of national curriculums.

ie. taught to kids during Biology classes while seniors. Presentation of scientific evidence that homosexuality is not a choice.

It might help combat the homophobia that developes, generation after generation, while people are at high school.

Certainly, here in Britain I'd say a tiny percentage of the population understand homosexuality, it is not ever mentioned in schools (except occasionally in sex-ed videos where it is not explained and homosexuals are rarely painted in a sympathetic light) and I reacon that's a big part of the reason homophobia is so common. Education to combat ignorance.

[snoopy (imported)]

I was not aware that there are any deadly man-made viruses. Can you tell me the source of this information?

i listen to a lot of local, national, and international radio news and informational shows (not conspiracy's related... mostly documentaries), and quoting radio is always difficult. However, the following reference comes to mind: 'The Hot Zone' by Richard Preston.

- snoopy

[Danya (imported)]

I was not aware that there are any deadly man-made viruses. Can you tell me the source of this information?

I myself am not aware of any deadly man-made viruses. There are certainly viruses that are genetically engineered for purposes such as injecting new genetic material (e.g., genes for insulin production) into bacteria, for instance, so that they produce human insulin. This technology is certainly controversial, particularly in cases like genetically altered food crops. I can cite references but I do not have time right now, unfortunately. Clearly there is the potential for both good (insulin) and undesirable consequences.

The reference to deadly viruses may be to at least two stockpiles around the globe of the smallpox virus, which has been eradicated in humans. This is a naturally occurring virus that had been wiped out of the human population, in 1979, through a vigorous program of vaccinations over many years by the World Health Organization (WHO). Of course, the continued existence of smallpox stockpiles is also controversial, as it should be. It was WHO that recommended that remaining samples of the virus be sent to two reference laboratories.

BTW, smallpox is the only human disease ever completely eradicated. This is a real benefit of scientific and medical research. Over the centuries, smallpox has killed hundreds of millions of people. WHO estimated that in 1967 alone, slightly over a decade before its eradication, smallpox still killed about 2 million people.

Bioengineered and stockpiled viruses are yet additional reasons for people to be informed about what's going on in science and the world. People need to be aware that there have been some very positive benefits from scientific research while being aware of how research has also been misused. The ability to speak with real knowledge and authority is powerful. Unfortunately, the world is growing exponentially more complex and has been for many years. We should not keep silent about issues involving the uses of science nor let our politicians control it. To be truly credible, though, we need to have a clear understanding of how science works and what it can and cannot do. We also need to understand that research will continue whether we like it or not. This applies

to the origins of homosexuality,

the origins of the universe and an endless variety of other areas.

I will admit my own bias here. I have a PhD in chemistry and an MS in evolutionary biology/plant ecology. Yet I try very hard to be as unbiased as I can regarding science issues as I have tried to demonstrate here. I can see the potential for both good and bad from science. In addition, I no longer work in a science so I have no pet research projects. People do not have to have advanced degrees in science, however, to be educated about it.

[Danya (imported)]

Since my post of yesterday (#29 on this thread), I have come across one more article that clearly discusses the genetic component of male homosexuality. It ought to be published some time this summer and is not yet on line.

Iemmola and Ciani discuss their research on 250 Italian men (152 of them homosexual) and their extended families. The evidence is very strong for a genetic component, one gene of which is on the X chromosome. In females, the genes produce women who have significantly larger numbers of children than those women who do not carry the genes.

........ some text deleted by Danya

Being gay may be a sign that your family line carries one significant genetic advantage over lines that do not have gay males.

I find this another piece of fascinating scientific research. If this conclusion is confirmed, it is one reason why homosexuality persists. This would mean there is a genetic, and presumably evolutionary, advantage to any 'gay' gene(s) and that is carried through the mother. A woman carrying the gene to favor the birth of homosexual sons would express its presence not by being gay herself but by naturally being more fertile than women lacking this gene. So, in the end, this may prove not to be a strictly gay gene at all but a gene with multiple functions.

[Danya (imported)]

i listen to a lot of local, national, and international radio news and informational shows (not conspiracy's related... mostly documentaries), and quoting radio is always difficult. However, the following reference comes to mind: 'The Hot Zone' by Richard Preston.

- snoopy

Just an FYI, the Ebola virus is the basis for the non-fiction book "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston. The virus occurs naturally in tropical Africa. It only recently came to the attention of science, in the late 1970s.

[Danya (imported)]

I think that most haters are lower class or, at most, lower middle class people. (The type of people who are sometimes called "trailer trash")

As someone else resopnded, I disagree. I am definitely a proponent of providing a solid educational background for everyone in science and the humanities. I would hope that one result of this would be adults who are more tolerant (and, better yet, accepting) of human differences. The truth is, though, I really have no clue as to how large a factor education is in all of this.

One of my brothers is extremely well-educated and has lots of money. In the area of understanding people though, he doesn't have a clue. He absolutely is not accepting of gays and trans folk like me.

On the other hand, I know one of the least well paid women at work who has no education beyond high school and has never traveled more than 20 miles from her home. She is a remarkable woman, nonetheless, and is very accepting and affirming of gay people and me.

For that matter, the guy who picks up everyone's trash at the end of the day and has not finished high school totally accepts me. He is very genuine and always treats me well.

At least one person here has stated that it would be terrific if people could simply love one another just as they are, without the benefit of research to convince them that is the way they should behave. I am in total agreement with that.

The Archive is a place where, in large part, people very much accept each other for who they are. There are always going to be some disagreements but people here care about each other. This is very unusual and quite wonderful.