Brain differences seen in gay sheep
US researchers who found homosexual rams in a herd of sheep say they have found changes in the brains of the "gay" animals.
The results, published in the latest issue of the journal Endocrinology, tend to support studies in humans that have found anatomical differences between the brains of heterosexual and homosexual men.
The researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine (OHSU) in the US found certain groups of brain cells were different between rams and ewes in a part of the sheep brain controlling sexual behaviour.
In rams that preferred to mate with other males, this area was smaller than in males that preferred females.
"There's a difference in the brain that is correlated with sexual partner preference rather than gender of the animal you're looking at," Kay Larkin, an OHSU electron microscopist who worked on the study, said.
"This particular study, along with others, strongly suggests that sexual preference is biologically determined in animals and possibly in humans," said Charles Roselli, a professor of physiology and pharmacology who led the research team.
"The hope is that the study of these brain differences will provide clues to the processes involved in the development of heterosexual, as well as homosexual behaviour."
Animal experts have found that about 8 per cent of domestic rams display preferences for other males as sexual partners.
"Same-sex attraction is widespread across many different species," said Mr Roselli, who worked with a team at Oregon State University and the US Department of Agriculture's US Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho.
They looked at 27 adult, four-year-old sheep of mixed Western breeds including eight male sheep that preferred to mate with females, nine that mated mostly with males and 10 ewes.
They found a densely packed cluster of nerve cells in the hypothalamus of the sheep brain, which they named the ovine sexually dimorphic nucleus (OSDN).
The hypothalamus regulates sex hormone secretion, blood pressure, body temperature, water balance, and food intake, and also helps regulate complex behaviours such as sexual behaviour.
The OSDN in rams that preferred females was "significantly" larger and contained more neurons than in male-oriented rams and in ewes.
There were also hormonal differences between the brains of homosexual and heterosexual sheep.
-- Reuters
I haven't read the paper yet, but I checked ISI for the journal's impact factor: 3.4 This would suck in neuroscience, but in environmental science that makes it #2 right behind GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES (3.9)
Some brain cells regenerate rapidly. Granule cells in the olfactory epithelium and granule cells in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation continue to generate throughout life. Whether cortex generates new cells is a little more controversial. Without getting into the debate the problem stems from the lack of specificity of the techniques; the labelling will mark apoptotic cells in addition to cells undergoing cell division.
I thought the word for cells that undergo apoptosis in the postnatal mammalian brain is generally infarct. Most stroke damage comes apoptosis following reperfusion. Other tahn that there is very little apoptosis in the brain.
I find it rather ironic that so many people in America, the land of capitalism, hate outsourcing so much. This is simple economics right out of Adam Smith. People in India can do the same things as people here in the States, and at a significantly lower price. Therefore, they get the jobs, and rightfully so. One good benefit for Americans is that this allows their employers to use that money elsewhere. And yeah, IT job salaries might fall, and some people might have find jobs outside the IT field. But for the most part Indians need these jobs much worse than we do. I'm willing to bet that as far as possessions go, the average unemployed computer geek is significanlty better off than the Indian worker who "stole" his job.
Slashdot Mirror
Brain differences seen in gay sheep US researchers who found homosexual rams in a herd of sheep say they have found changes in the brains of the "gay" animals. The results, published in the latest issue of the journal Endocrinology, tend to support studies in humans that have found anatomical differences between the brains of heterosexual and homosexual men. The researchers at the Oregon Health and Science University School of Medicine (OHSU) in the US found certain groups of brain cells were different between rams and ewes in a part of the sheep brain controlling sexual behaviour. In rams that preferred to mate with other males, this area was smaller than in males that preferred females. "There's a difference in the brain that is correlated with sexual partner preference rather than gender of the animal you're looking at," Kay Larkin, an OHSU electron microscopist who worked on the study, said. "This particular study, along with others, strongly suggests that sexual preference is biologically determined in animals and possibly in humans," said Charles Roselli, a professor of physiology and pharmacology who led the research team. "The hope is that the study of these brain differences will provide clues to the processes involved in the development of heterosexual, as well as homosexual behaviour." Animal experts have found that about 8 per cent of domestic rams display preferences for other males as sexual partners. "Same-sex attraction is widespread across many different species," said Mr Roselli, who worked with a team at Oregon State University and the US Department of Agriculture's US Sheep Experiment Station in Dubois, Idaho. They looked at 27 adult, four-year-old sheep of mixed Western breeds including eight male sheep that preferred to mate with females, nine that mated mostly with males and 10 ewes. They found a densely packed cluster of nerve cells in the hypothalamus of the sheep brain, which they named the ovine sexually dimorphic nucleus (OSDN). The hypothalamus regulates sex hormone secretion, blood pressure, body temperature, water balance, and food intake, and also helps regulate complex behaviours such as sexual behaviour. The OSDN in rams that preferred females was "significantly" larger and contained more neurons than in male-oriented rams and in ewes. There were also hormonal differences between the brains of homosexual and heterosexual sheep. -- Reuters
I haven't read the paper yet, but I checked ISI for the journal's impact factor: 3.4 This would suck in neuroscience, but in environmental science that makes it #2 right behind GLOBAL BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES (3.9)
Some brain cells regenerate rapidly. Granule cells in the olfactory epithelium and granule cells in the dentate gyrus of the hippocampal formation continue to generate throughout life. Whether cortex generates new cells is a little more controversial. Without getting into the debate the problem stems from the lack of specificity of the techniques; the labelling will mark apoptotic cells in addition to cells undergoing cell division.
I thought the word for cells that undergo apoptosis in the postnatal mammalian brain is generally infarct. Most stroke damage comes apoptosis following reperfusion. Other tahn that there is very little apoptosis in the brain.
... and you wasted it like the cack-handed tea bagger that you are.
I find it rather ironic that so many people in America, the land of capitalism, hate outsourcing so much. This is simple economics right out of Adam Smith. People in India can do the same things as people here in the States, and at a significantly lower price. Therefore, they get the jobs, and rightfully so. One good benefit for Americans is that this allows their employers to use that money elsewhere. And yeah, IT job salaries might fall, and some people might have find jobs outside the IT field. But for the most part Indians need these jobs much worse than we do. I'm willing to bet that as far as possessions go, the average unemployed computer geek is significanlty better off than the Indian worker who "stole" his job.
Is Junis a member of your club?