Between you and your genes.It's been dubbed the Judy Garland gene, the show tune gene, even the queen gene. Whatever the moniker (1) A name, title or alias. See alias. (2) A COM object that is used to create instances of other objects. Monikers save programmers time when coding various types of COM-based functions such as linking one document to another (OLE). See COM and OLE. , much scientific--and public--stock has been placed in the notion that homosexuality is genetic. But that theory may have been quashed by the February completion of the Human Genome The human genome is the genome of Homo sapiens, which is composed of 24 distinct pairs of chromosomes (22 autosomal + X + Y) with a total of approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs containing an estimated 20,000–25,000 genes. Project, which mapped all of the body's genetic code. Humans were found to have just 30,000 to 40,000 genes--only a third more than roundworms and just double that of fruit flies--damaging any notion that every human trait is tied to a corresponding gene. "Most complex behaviors are most likely linked to more than one gene," said Eric Vilain, a professor of human genetics Human genetics A discipline concerned with genetically determined resemblances and differences among human beings. Technological advances in the visualization of human chromosomes have shown that abnormalities of chromosome number or structure are surprisingly at the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. "Additionally, all complex human behavior can only partially be attributed to genetics." In fact, the completion of the genome project genome project 1 The Human Genome Project, see there 2. A general term for a coordinated research initiative for mapping and sequencing the genome of any organism and the discovery that all people are 99.9% genetically identical to each other leads researchers to lean toward the concept that our genes don't set us apart from each other but rather unite us. "To put it simply," Vilain said, "it appears that we're all a little black, a little Jewish, and a little gay." |
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