Saturday, October 27, 2007

The World of Homosexual Nematodes

In a recent study scientists have been able to induce homosexual behavior in Nematodes.
Nematodes are part of the phylum Nematoda and are small string like creatures that feed on bacteria. There are two sexes in Nematodes, hermaphrodite and male. The sex is designated by chromosomes in the DNA which encode the whole cell system of the Nematode to be either hermaphroditic or male.

In terms of sexual attraction males are attracted to hermaphrodites and hermaphrodites are attracted to males. The scientists were able to change the nerve cells so that they could produce nematodes that were attracted to the same sex. The study was done where hermaphroditic nematodes were changed to be attracted to other hermaphrodites, therefore expressing the male sexual orientation. This was done by “turning on” the gene that was responsible for a male sexual orientation in a hermaphrodite’s brain. It was also noted that nematodes may use their sense of smell to find a mate. Apparently males are able to find hermaphrodites based on their smell, which is that of vegetables. While a hermaphrodite is able to find a male based on its “buttery” smell. So maybe the turning on of certain genes could change what smell the nematode is looking for in a mate.

Scientists in this experiment were trying to show that there is a genetic basis to sexual orientation. They also commented on the idea of relating this study to humans. The scientists were recorded as saying “You might think this is a study about sexuality, but it's really our foothold on understanding the brain, So what we learn about how the brain works in a worm will apply to our understanding of humans.” There is a large gap between humans and nematodes in neurons though. A nematode has 383, while a human has a hundred billion.

Hopefully this study is just the beginning of helping us understand the brain.

Posted by Chris Kennedy(5)


4 Comments:

At 2:58 PM, Blogger Kyle McCarthy said...

Interesting! I wonder, since humans have so many more neurons, subsequently are there are several genetic "switches" that determine sexual orientation, or as with the nematode is there one "Master Switch." It would be a bit scary if they ever figured out how to flip that switch on and off in humans. Then you might end up with fundamentalist feeling that they could "Heal" their children, when in reality they are perfectly healthy.... Great job relating this in a concise and easy to read manner.

Posted by Kyle McCarthy

 
At 4:13 PM, Blogger PWH said...

It is interesting to think about how much deeper sexuality and sex goes. Finally we are getting to one of the main roots of science, the genetics, the building blocks,the very stuff of what we consider to be life. I wonder how deep sex really is and what are conceptions of it really are. I wonder where the line of morality is in science. Do you think we have crossed it yet? Its interesting to think within the next century we will have to reconfigure our thoughts on life, philosophy, and religion to ever proceed in the field of biology. Exciting times, exciting research.

Posted by Antonio Hernandez

 
At 12:23 AM, Blogger PWH said...

Thats pretty amazing how scientists have found and were able to control the sexuality in worms. I wonder if this is the strategy this species has taken to survive in terms of sexual selection and reproductive methods? And if scientists find the genes that determine your sexuality, that could lead to all sorts of things. Great article.

 
At 12:24 AM, Blogger PWH said...

Posted by Harvmit Huang

 

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