The evidence continues to pile up that points to a medical cause for transsexuality and gets us closer to understanding how gender developmental disorders happen.. There was interesting news coming from researchers Down Under that the alteration of a single gene, called MAP3K1, will cause some male embryos to develop as female.
Lead Melbourne researcher Prof.Andrew Sinclair, of Murdoch Children's Research Institute, said the breakthrough would improve the diagnosis and treatment of patients with these disorders.
The MAP3K1 plays a role in switching on genes that direct the gonad to become testes. Alteration of this gene caused male embryos to develop female characteristics, including genitalia and an overall feminine appearance.
It's also more evidence that the Human Genome Project, the Big Science effort of the 90's whose funding was fought by back in the day conservafools and was completed in 2003, is paying major dividends in terms of our understanding of which genes do what and how they affect the human body.
Results of the collaborative effort study between researchers in Australia, France, the US and UK were published in the American Journal of Human Genetics.
While some folks in the trans community may see this as unsettling news, I'm one of those peeps that has an inquiring mind and wants to know how we transpeople come to be..
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