Scientific study has been getting a bad rap lately from the religious right and the current presidential administration. Its almost as if the central mission of science-uncovering the truth about the universe through observation and experimentation-is diametrically opposed to the worldview of Bush and his followers. This strikes me as quite odd, considering that the religious righties always seem to be certain that they-and they alone-know the truth about god, the universe and everything. Youd think that theyd welcome the application of objective, scientific principles to their centuries-old belief systems. Instead, they seem to fear that scientific inquiry holds the power to disprove them. These are generally the same people who think that the concepts of evolution and a creator are mutually exclusive. To me, these concepts are only mutually exclusive in the narrowest of minds.
I think thats sad, because, so far, science has been really useful behind eliminating the flimsy excuses behind much of the worlds moralizing, bigotry and hatred that comes from ignorance and fear of the unkown. For example, no one still believes that a person in the throes of an epileptic fit is really being possessed by the devil, and hardly anyone still believes that a persons intelligence is determined by the color of their skin. Unfortunately, science can only eliminate the flimsy excuses-not the actual moralizing, bigotry and hatred. There are still white people who insist that black people arent as smart. Such white people clearly think such things because theyre not all that bright themselves.
At any rate, I think science has only just begun to feel the wrath of those who would rather staunchly defend ignorance than consider new ideas and compelling evidence. This new chapter of science-busting will begin, I believe, with the fruit fly. Researchers, working at the Austrian Institute for Molecular Biology, havc found that they can change the sexual orientation of fruit flies by manipulating one gene. They can, in effect, make fruit flies even fruitier. Researchers watched as genetically-altered males fruit flies turned their sexual attention to other males, the New York Times reported recently. When the dormant male portion of this sex gene was activated in female fruit flies, they began courting other females using all the time-honored panoply of fruit fly mating rituals. The altered females engaged in these flirtations despite the fact that they lacked the male equipment to make good on their promises.They did it because their genes told them to.
The article did not say whether or not the genetically altered flies set about opening their own night clubs or petitioning the government for the right to marry, but did say that the impact of this study could be far-reaching:
Although the research makes no claim as to whether the same is true for human sexual orientation, it does hold great promise in that regard. In the same article, Dr. Michael Weiss, chairman of the biochemistry department at Case Western Reserve University, said, Hopefully this will take the discussion about sexual preferences out of the realm of morality and put it in the realm of science.
..and this is what makes the religious right unhappy. First of all, such scientific evidence-in a sort of academic I told you so- would verify what gays and lesbians have been saying forever-that they do not choose their sexual orientation. Also, it would make discriminating against them no only incredibly unfair, but unlawful as well. Society could no longer say that some people, due to genetic conditions beyond their control, did not deserve the same rights as everyone else. Even if everyone else thought that what some people do in the privacy of their own homes is icky.
I dare say, though, that if-or, more likely,when-scientists can say beyond all doubt that human sexual orientation is a result of our genetic mapping, there will be people who choose to believe otherwise. In a hundred years or so, well look back upon them the same we now look back on people who believed the world was flat.
These naysayers are probably already clearing their throats in order to point out that there are a great many differences between humans and fruit flies, and thats an entirely valid point. One of the biggest differences, which was pointed out by the very same Times article, is that fruit flies copulate for 20 minutes at a stretch-and thats not counting foreplay. Few humans, past the age of 19, are capable of or desirous of such sustained sexual activity-unless they are on something.
Consider; the average life span of a fruit fly is 30 days, while the life expectancy of us humans averages 76 years. So, in human terms, 20 minutes of fruit fly copulation is equivalent to nearly 13 days dancing in the sheets, Without water or a bathroom break. Not only is that not possible, I cant imagine it would be all that pleasant.
This brings me to one other way in which fruit flies and humans differ: we seem to obsess about sex much more than they do. After all, given that the female fruit fly can lay up to 1,200 eggs in her month-long life, theyve got other things to think about. Whats more, the human obsession with sex is one of the major forces behind the moralizing, bigotry and hatred by the religious right. If they spent more time reading up on science, and less time pondering what homosexuals do in bed, wed all probably be a lot happier
I think thats sad, because, so far, science has been really useful behind eliminating the flimsy excuses behind much of the worlds moralizing, bigotry and hatred that comes from ignorance and fear of the unkown. For example, no one still believes that a person in the throes of an epileptic fit is really being possessed by the devil, and hardly anyone still believes that a persons intelligence is determined by the color of their skin. Unfortunately, science can only eliminate the flimsy excuses-not the actual moralizing, bigotry and hatred. There are still white people who insist that black people arent as smart. Such white people clearly think such things because theyre not all that bright themselves.
At any rate, I think science has only just begun to feel the wrath of those who would rather staunchly defend ignorance than consider new ideas and compelling evidence. This new chapter of science-busting will begin, I believe, with the fruit fly. Researchers, working at the Austrian Institute for Molecular Biology, havc found that they can change the sexual orientation of fruit flies by manipulating one gene. They can, in effect, make fruit flies even fruitier. Researchers watched as genetically-altered males fruit flies turned their sexual attention to other males, the New York Times reported recently. When the dormant male portion of this sex gene was activated in female fruit flies, they began courting other females using all the time-honored panoply of fruit fly mating rituals. The altered females engaged in these flirtations despite the fact that they lacked the male equipment to make good on their promises.They did it because their genes told them to.
The article did not say whether or not the genetically altered flies set about opening their own night clubs or petitioning the government for the right to marry, but did say that the impact of this study could be far-reaching:
Although the research makes no claim as to whether the same is true for human sexual orientation, it does hold great promise in that regard. In the same article, Dr. Michael Weiss, chairman of the biochemistry department at Case Western Reserve University, said, Hopefully this will take the discussion about sexual preferences out of the realm of morality and put it in the realm of science.
..and this is what makes the religious right unhappy. First of all, such scientific evidence-in a sort of academic I told you so- would verify what gays and lesbians have been saying forever-that they do not choose their sexual orientation. Also, it would make discriminating against them no only incredibly unfair, but unlawful as well. Society could no longer say that some people, due to genetic conditions beyond their control, did not deserve the same rights as everyone else. Even if everyone else thought that what some people do in the privacy of their own homes is icky.
I dare say, though, that if-or, more likely,when-scientists can say beyond all doubt that human sexual orientation is a result of our genetic mapping, there will be people who choose to believe otherwise. In a hundred years or so, well look back upon them the same we now look back on people who believed the world was flat.
These naysayers are probably already clearing their throats in order to point out that there are a great many differences between humans and fruit flies, and thats an entirely valid point. One of the biggest differences, which was pointed out by the very same Times article, is that fruit flies copulate for 20 minutes at a stretch-and thats not counting foreplay. Few humans, past the age of 19, are capable of or desirous of such sustained sexual activity-unless they are on something.
Consider; the average life span of a fruit fly is 30 days, while the life expectancy of us humans averages 76 years. So, in human terms, 20 minutes of fruit fly copulation is equivalent to nearly 13 days dancing in the sheets, Without water or a bathroom break. Not only is that not possible, I cant imagine it would be all that pleasant.
This brings me to one other way in which fruit flies and humans differ: we seem to obsess about sex much more than they do. After all, given that the female fruit fly can lay up to 1,200 eggs in her month-long life, theyve got other things to think about. Whats more, the human obsession with sex is one of the major forces behind the moralizing, bigotry and hatred by the religious right. If they spent more time reading up on science, and less time pondering what homosexuals do in bed, wed all probably be a lot happier
