Scientists Say New DNA Saliva Test Can Predict Who’s Gay
Born this way? Scientists are looking at the DNA of gay men and again are finding biological, not environmental, reasons people are gay or straight.
Many people are familiar with the iconic double helix (above) that represents what our DNA looks like. The search for the “gay gene” has been going on for years, to no avail, giving anti-gay activists false fuel to insist being gay is a bad moral choice. Of course, even if it were a choice, and the vast, vast majority of LGBT people say it’s not, there still would be nothing immoral about it.
On Thursday at the American Society of Human Genetics annual meeting scientists presented a study they say offers a 67 percent accurate test that can be performed on saliva, to determine if someone is gay or straight. They haven’t mentioned bisexuality or varying degrees of sexuality.
These researchers, led by Tuck Ngun, a former postdoctoral fellow at UCLA, say there may not be a gay gene, but chemical “switches” that attach to DNA effectively turn on or off a particular gene, and thus a person’s homosexuality or heterosexuality. Testing for these five particular epigenetic switches, they say, can reveal a person’s sexuality.
Buzzfeed reports that “Ngun, who is gay, agrees that this research is in its infancy, and says he has no intention of making a commercial test to predict sexuality. Still, he’s worried about the potentially ominous implications of his work — so much so, in fact, that he has decided to leave the field.
“It kind of, honestly, became a little bit troubling to me, what I was actually doing,†Ngun told BuzzFeed News. “Having done this now, I could sort of foresee a not-so-happy outcome.â€
The science is often tested on identical twins because their genes are similar – but not, contrary to many media reports, identical, as Scientific American reports. The anti-gay right wrongly insists identical twins genes are identical to claim, again, that being gay is a bad moral choice.Â
Some researchers are skeptical of the study, citing a small sample size. Ngun tested only 37 pairs of male twins, one identifying as gay, one identifying as straight.
While the media is heralding this as a new development, it’s really not.
In 2012 NCRM reported on a similar study of epigenetics switching on and off genes that “make” someone heterosexual or homosexual.
If all this seems confusing, here’s a great video that explains the science in easy to understand terms.
Â
Image by Christoph Bock (Max Planck Institute for Informatics) via Wikimedia
Enjoy this piece?
… then let us make a small request. The New Civil Rights Movement depends on readers like you to meet our ongoing expenses and continue producing quality progressive journalism. Three Silicon Valley giants consume 70 percent of all online advertising dollars, so we need your help to continue doing what we do.
NCRM is independent. You won’t find mainstream media bias here. From unflinching coverage of religious extremism, to spotlighting efforts to roll back our rights, NCRM continues to speak truth to power. America needs independent voices like NCRM to be sure no one is forgotten.
Every reader contribution, whatever the amount, makes a tremendous difference. Help ensure NCRM remains independent long into the future. Support progressive journalism with a one-time contribution to NCRM, or click here to become a subscriber. Thank you. Click here to donate by check.
 |
U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, a “staunch” Trump ally, late Friday afternoon suspended her campaign for governor after failing to secure President Donald Trump’s endorsement. The New York Republican also announced she will not seek re-election to Congress.
“I did not come to this decision lightly for our family,” Stefanik said in her statement, while insisting that she would have “overwhelmingly won this primary.” Instead, she decided that “it is not an effective use of our time or your generous resources to spend the first half of next year in an unnecessary and protracted Republican primary, especially in a challenging state like New York.”
Earlier this year, Congresswoman Stefanik saw her nomination to serve as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations withdrawn. She also battled with Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, at times very publicly.
“At war with Johnson and double-burned by Trump, what’s the incentive to finish her term?” asked New York Times congressional correspondent Annie Karni.
READ MORE: Trump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files
“WOW,” exclaimed Inside Elections’ Jacob Rubashkin, “a roller coaster of a few years for Stefanik, who seemed on a rocket ship to GOP leadership, then to a UN ambassadorship, then to the gubernatorial nomination, and now with none and headed for the exits.”
Cook Political Report’s Matthew Klein noted that “Stefanik’s path was borderline nonexistent. She was simply way too conservative and Trump-aligned to win in New York state.”
“Quite the rise and fall story,” observed former anchor turned podcaster Chuck Todd. “Sliding doors alternative histories galore with her career.”
“She went from moderate to full MAGA for nothing,” noted HuffPost’s Jennifer Bendery.
READ MORE: ‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half
Image via Reuters
President Donald Trump on Thursday said he did not know the Kennedy Center was going to vote to add his name to the iconic memorial to the late president, just one day before the building’s lettering was changed. On Friday, Trump similarly said he was unaware of how a federal prescription drug program, TrumpRX, came to be named.
The Associated Press reported on Thursday that “Trump, a Republican who’s chairman of the board, said at the White House that he was ‘surprised’ and ‘honored’ by the vote” to rename the Kennedy Center.
The TrumpRX website says it is an “official website of the United States government” that “connects patients directly with the best prices, increasing transparency and cutting out costly third-party markups.” It also says it will launch in January.
READ MORE: ‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half
On Friday, in a White House event announcing lower drug prices, the president also appeared surprised at how TrumpRX got its name.
“I didn’t name it that — somebody named it that,” the president told reporters.
“And I guess they assumed that — did you name it, Oz?” Trump asked, referring to Mehmet Oz, his Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
“Bobby name it?” the president continued, asking about his Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
“We all named it together” a voice off-screen replied.
“OK, well,” Trump said, “I’m honored to have the name.”
“And so far that that’s turned out ’cause the numbers are so incredible,” he said of the yet-to-be-live program. “It’s an honor.”
Trump: They will list their most popular drugs on TrumpRx. I didn’t name it that. Did you name it, Oz? Bobby name it?
Oz: We all did it together.
Trump: I’m honored to have the name pic.twitter.com/m0qHaouwXO
— Acyn (@Acyn) December 19, 2025
READ MORE: Trump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files
Image via Reuters
Responding to news that unemployment jumped to a four-year high of 4.6%, President Donald Trump lashed out at the “fake news” media and claimed he could slash that number by more than half, to 2%.
In a Truth Social post, the president claimed that the “only” reason unemployment “ticked up” is because “we are reducing the Government Workforce by numbers that have never been seen before.”
He also mischaracterized the unemployment rate as 4.5%, not 4.6%, the official and widely-reported number.
Trump then explained how he could reduce the unemployment rate.
READ MORE: Trump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files
“I could reduce Unemployment to 2% overnight by just hiring people into the Federal Government, even though those Jobs are not necessary,” he wrote.
Trump’s remarks align with comments made one day earlier by Kevin Hassett, the director of the National Economic Council, as CNN’s Alayna Treene noted.
When asked why the president had claimed that unemployment is down during his Wednesday primetime address, Hassett appeared to suggest that federal government jobs should not be part of the calculation.
READ MORE: Trump Will Be ‘Devastated and Humiliated’ if Jack Smith Testifies in Public: Top Dem
“If you look at the numbers, then there’s really one big factor that explains the difference, and that is that because of tightening government spending,” Hassett told Treene. “We’ve reduced federal employment by 250,000 workers.”
“And so if you adjust the unemployment rate for the fact that there’s been a large loss for government workers, for federal government workers, then you get numbers that are consistent with what the president’s saying.”
Trump finished his post by writing, “I wish the Fake News would report the 4.5% correctly. What I am doing is the only way to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
I pressed National Economic Director Kevin Hassett this morning on why the president chose to exaggerate some of the economic stats he cited in his address last night — specifically the idea that unemployment is down (it’s up, from 4% when he entered office to most recently 4.6%) pic.twitter.com/4WXli1jhRf
— Alayna Treene (@alaynatreene) December 18, 2025
READ MORE: ‘Downright Weird’: Kennedys Blast New Trump-Kennedy Center Name
Image via Reuters
‘Double-Burned by Trump’: Stefanik Suspends Campaign for Governor
Trump Says He Didn’t Name TrumpRX — After Claiming He Didn’t Know About the Kennedy Center
‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half
Trump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files
Trump Will Be ‘Devastated and Humiliated’ if Jack Smith Testifies in Public: Top Dem
News2 days ago‘Double-Burned by Trump’: Stefanik Suspends Campaign for Governor
News3 days ago‘Downright Weird’: Kennedys Blast New Trump-Kennedy Center Name
News3 days ago‘Robbing Peter to Pay Paul’: Trump Diverts Congress-Approved Funds for ‘Warrior Dividend’
News3 days ago‘With a Grain of Salt’: Urging Caution on Inflation Report Economists Warn of Missing Data
News3 days ago‘Cult of Personality’: White House Slammed After Announcing New Name for Kennedy Center
News3 days agoWarnock Fires Back at Trump With Bible Study Invite
News2 days ago‘Overnight’: Trump Claims He Could Slash Unemployment by More Than Half
News2 days agoTrump DOJ Blasted for ‘Missing Today’s Legal Deadline’ to Release All Epstein Files
