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  1. Gregory Matthews

    It Is Time For A Change

    My eye surgery has been sclheduled for later inNovember at a tilme to be deermined. This speed was not expected, but a slot has opened up. GM
    3 points
  2. Gregory Matthews

    Adventists Elected

    At least ten people wlillth SDA connections were elected in the November 3 elections. Several were from Oakwood College. See: https://spectrummagazine.org/news/adventists-in-2026-midterms/?utm_source=SPECTRUM&utm_campaign=c0fa1d87c8-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2026_11_06_08_41&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-c0fa1d87c8-650685147
    2 points
  3. Asia Joe

    One Voice 27

    This week we have meetings and guest evangelists from USA. 5 simultaneous programs in 5 towns. It Is Sabbath here and there will be one service in a larger auditorium. Many will come. more than 3000. In the afternoon there will be baptisms. Some will be new, some will be family members of converts. Like USA, some will need to attend several meetings before joining. Some may be from previous Evan events, but there was to much social pressure to join then. Now that the social pressure has waned, they will be baptized. Yesterday was overcast, so hopefully it will be today. It makes it comfortable standing outside on the beach for over an hour. Sometimes up to 3 hours if there are many. Probably there will be 6 pastors baptizing.
    2 points
  4. Gregory Matthews

    It Is Time For A Change

    The US militarly is good about honoring p eople who do well. Sometimes better thanl we do folrpeople who wlerve uls. The following are some of the recognlition that thke Army gave me. To learlnllmore albout them look them ou on the Internet. * Legion of Merit * Meritorious Service Medal with 1 OLC: Awared twice * JoInt Service Commendation Medal< A combat award * Army Commendation Medal with 2 OLC, Awarded 3 timesd Army Achievent Medal< with 1 OLC Awarded 2-times * Good Conduct Medal, only awarded to enlisted, never to officers
    2 points
  5. Gregory Matthews

    It Is Time For A Change

    Haseng: I will clairfy what you have unlderstood: * ?When I graduated for ml Palcific Unioin Collefge, I was informed that I could be comissioned as a Medical sErvice Corps Officer. I decided not to go that rourte. * As a Theology student, who hD BEEN Accepted at the lSeminY AT aNdrews, I was legally exempt frokm being drafted. IL forgo that exemption and I volunteered to be drafted. ID was drafted wilthin 30 dlays. and I erved for 2-years as an enlisted combat medic. * I got out of the Army, graduated from the Semlinary at Andrews and served as a SDA pastor in Virginia. * k Ater 10-years I re=entered thae armly as a chaplailn. * I ckompleted a total of 20-years in the army and then lelft active duty. Under the law, I remain an armyl Chakplain, just not werving on active duty. * During my time as a SDA lpastor in Virginia, I also served for short periods in the Reserves. * I was rhwe first SDA ever to serve as a National Guard Chaplin. * i also served as qa Reserve Uniot cjhaplain. * During active duty I served on the tedching faclty of the Army Chaplain School, the first SDA tko do so. * I was the first Army chaplain ever to go into combat with a COED unit.
    2 points
  6. Hanseng

    It Is Time For A Change

    When I learned that, as a military officer, you opted to go through the same training as an enlisted man, I knew you were not only unique but highly respectable as well. I hope your vision improves. Modern medicine can accomplish marvels, even miracles. You have been an excellent moderator!
    2 points
  7. Gustave

    Patrick Stewart

    An accomplished actor for sure. I think I first saw him in Dune, Star Trek of course and X-men all of which I thought were great movies. He will be missed!
    2 points
  8. phkrause

    It Is Time For A Change

    Will be praying for all to go well and according to Gods will to be done!!!
    2 points
  9. Gregory Matthews

    It Is Time For A Change

    nEWS! I sustained a major loss of vision over a recent 7-week period. Yesterday,l I saw the physician who is treating me for my ARRDSkl kand GA. Slhle informedmet hat iln her opion, that loss was s due to a 3rd condition that could be t reated by surgery. Howlelverl, it was uncertain as to how lmuch relief would vbe obtained. Butl, some could be expected. I am settilng tlhat process in motion. I will know much mor later. I do not know when the surgery wilol occur or anything about the recovery period. But, there is hope. I am thankful for your prayers.
    2 points
  10. Gregory Matthews

    The Rebellion of Women

    Yes. the SDA denomlination whilch on some levels rejects women lin ministry has a co-folunder who is a female! [NOTE: On other levels of the SDA denomination women aare fully accepted in ministry. ] The public at large fails to understand this incostent reality. That is a valid point. Elen White was issued the credentials of an ordained minister, for a number of years. No, she did not pastor a SDA Church as she ministered to the denomlination as a whole. We have many men in administration who are considered clery and do not pastor SDA congregations.
    2 points
  11. Gregory Matthews

    The Splitting of Adventism

    The so=called lSabbth l School Qluaterly ils the published recommendation for SDA congregations to use in their Sabbath Schoool clases.. SDA Congregations are free to use other mteriL. Many do use other material, including non=SDA material.
    2 points
  12. Hanseng

    Original Mark of the Beast

    This word in the NT appears only once apart from the Apocalypse. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven <5480> by art and man’s device. In extra biblical documents, it is associated with the bite of a serpent, the brand on a camel, and the impression on coins.
    1 point
  13. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  14. Asia Joe

    One Voice 27

    One Voice 27 is in full swing in Asia. We have meetings going on now in our district. Over 100 attending nightly. Every church (9) in the district involved.
    1 point
  15. phkrause

    Les Stewart

    Sorry for your loss!!
    1 point
  16. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  17. phkrause

    the Beatles

    The last new Beatles song, ‘Now And Then,’ will be released next week NEW YORK (AP) — Sixty years after the onset of Beatlemania and with two of the quartet now dead, artificial intelligence has enabled the release next week of what is promised to be the last “new” Beatles song. https://apnews.com/article/last-new-beatles-song-e7b3a349b0e1e58b8668e98ba2d9cd0b? Listen to the last new Beatles’ song with John, Paul, George, Ringo and AI tech Titled “Now and Then,” the almost impossible-to-believe track is four minutes and eight seconds of the first and only original Beatles recording of the 21st century. There’s a countdown, then acoustic guitar strumming and piano bleed into the unmistakable vocal tone of John Lennon in the song’s introduction: “I know it’s true / It’s all because of you / And if I make it through / It’s all because of you.” https://apnews.com/article/beatles-last-song-now-then-release-fbce70071b4624f0d90bd18347f20fc6? The Beatles Make More Hot 100 History as ‘Now and Then’ Debuts in Top 10 The Beatles score their 35th top 10 – and first since 1996 – as the song starts at No. 7. https://www.billboard.com/lists/the-beatles-now-and-then-hot-100-top-10-debut/ Beatles to get a Fab Four of biopics, with a movie each for Paul, John, George and Ringo NEW YORK (AP) — The Beatles are getting the big-screen biopic treatment in not just one film, but a Fab Four of movies that will give each band member their own spotlight — all of which are to be directed by Sam Mendes. https://apnews.com/article/beatles-biopic-sam-mendes-3f3f74076d78f16ac420820638e05de3? Beatles history: May Pang’s personal photos of John Lennon come to Central Florida May Pang sighs as she considers the world’s problems and the political divide here in America. https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2025/01/16/beatles-history-may-pang-photos-john-lennon-florida/?
    1 point
  18. Kevin H

    the Beatles

    When there is a close death in the family, while there will always be pain and an empty part of the heart, there comes a day where the survivors get back to life, the spouse gets back to work or routine activities, the child gets ready for school the next day... One thing that is often overlooked about Beatlemania is that February 9, 1964 was only 9 weeks from the weekend of November 22, 1963. Clearly, the Beatles had talent, but also what lead to Beatlemania is that nearly everyone watched the Ed Sullivan show week after week. Their performance that night was the next big story, it was the night that caused America to get back to work, to school and to life. It was a huge healing for the country. Sadly, these kids needed to bear the responsibility for a nations healing, something that should not have been placed on people that young, but what the citizens of the United States needed to do. People who's lives do not have the memory of these two events have lost a very important, if not the most important legacy of the Beatles.
    1 point
  19. Asia Joe

    The False Doctrine of Universalism

    He is an ALL LOVING God. Everyone will be saved. And my friend (now deceased) was a very smart guy. I am sure God wants everyone to be saved. But there must be hundreds of bible passages about the unsaved. Maybe thousands.
    1 point
  20. phkrause

    Great Photo Shots!

    📸 America's natural wonders Photo: Bruce Bosse Axios reader Bruce Bosse of Knoxville, Tenn., and his wife, Sharon, recently spent 10 days visiting Utah's "Mighty 5" national parks: Zion (pictured above), Bryce Canyon, Capitol Reef, Arches and Canyonlands (below). "While we love our international travels, the national parks we have in the United States are true gems!" Bruce writes. Photo: Bruce Bosse 🏜️ Here's Mesa Arch in Canyonlands National Park, photographed just after sunrise.
    1 point
  21. Kevin H

    The Rebellion of Women

    The Bible originally did not have the chapter and verse divisions. Hebrew linguists point out that Genesis seen as one message, and in a poetic form. It is the story of the Seed. This message can be understood as: The curse on the serpent, and being in the dust (death) And I will put enmity between you (the serpent) and the woman, between thy seed and her seed, and you will do one action which you plan to be a fatal attack to the Seed, but it will only end up being merely a wound, while that action will be how He (The Promised Seed) will destroy the sin problem. And to the woman (who is not cursed) you will have pain in childbirth. This is more than "labor pain" but after carrying the child for 9 months, the mother TENDS to have a special connection to the child that tends to be deeper than others can have. She will share deeper the joys and pain for her child, and living in a sinful world the pains will more than likely outdo the joys. Well, she can simply avoid this pain by not having a family; but the tendency of the woman would be to have desire for her husband, and the family, thus even with the pain there is still the female tendency to have the family. The fact that the man get's his talk later shows a cluelessness where men don't naturally have the same tendency to the wife and family as the mother has, even as they try and do have desire, but the male tendency is for this to be not as intense as the tendency in the women. So we get a picture of a very dysfunctional family. We are living in a sinful world, but there is the promise that the Promised Seed will resolve the sin problem. But the family will have a lot of pain, especially in the motherly joy and pain of the child's life, and that very likely, there will be something missing in her relationship with her husband. But the hope for this painfully dysfunctional family is the promised gospel, THE PROMISED SEED, that the Hebrew grammar (beyond my education level) connects the "He" in verse 16 as the exact same "He" as verse 15, that as mentioned, this is the story of "HE" How He deals with the serpent and the sin problem, and how He works with sinful fallen humanity. The only way to get through life on a fallen planet is for the woman, her children and her husband to allow "HE" the Promised Seed who will resolve the sin problem will lead us through if only we let Him rule over us. The Promised Seed is not some pie in the sky, way down in the future, hopefully, maybe.... but HE is already there! Right at the start of sin, there HE IS!
    1 point
  22. Asia Joe

    The False Doctrine of Universalism

    I knew an Adventist who had this view. We had many discussions. He believed Cain would be saved. I never knew there was a name for it.
    1 point
  23. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  24. Artificial intelligence developer Emad Mostaque anticipates that advanced AI and humanoid robots will permanently displace both cognitive and physical labor in the near future. In a recent interview, Mostaque explained why attempts to ban AI will inevitably fail, pointing to China’s rapid transition toward fully automated “dark factories.” Rather than h… Read more The post Futurism: AI Developer Warns of Automated "Dark Factories" and Details Ways to Prepare for a Post-Labor Economy <label class="rltv-edition-check-wrap" onclick="event.stopPropagation();" title="Add to 5-Story Mini-Newspaper"><input type="checkbox" class="rltv-story-checkbox" data-id="170511835" data-title="Futurism: AI Developer Warns of Automated "Dark Factories" and Details Ways to Prepare for a Post-Labor Economy" /><span>+ Edition</span></label> appeared first on ReligiousLiberty.TV. View the full article
    1 point
  25. Hanseng

    Fasting

    Years ago (1978/1979), Ethel Nelson interviewed Nathan Pritikin. and Dr. Denis Burkit. Dr.Burkit inspired John McDougall to adopt healthier eating and Pritikin ~started the modern WFPB eating movement. Pritikin believed EGW was inspired, even though he disagreed with her at times. The interviews are preserved in the Ministry magazine archives. Most of the people promoting WFPB eating are standing upon the shoulders of Pritikin. He said he had read extensively of her dietary counsel. Among the numerous things she had right is the no snacking/two meal a day plan. Modern physiology studies have identified a digestive process which is impaired by snacking. Known as the migrating motor complex, this process is a cycle that takes a few hours to complete. Snacking interrupts the cycle, causing it to reset. This results in food remaining in the digestive system longer than it should. Burkit discusses this in his interview. Known as transit time, food should pass through the digestive process uninterrupted. Some of these WFPB doctors advocate eating several times a day, even "grazing". Both these practices are harmful. They probably contribute to various digestive disorders. Overall, EGWs' dietary counsel is certainly among the best, if not the best eating plan there is, that I'm aware of.
    1 point
  26. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  27. Hanseng

    Fasting

    305. The true fasting which should be recommended to all, is abstinence from every stimulating kind of food, and the proper use of wholesome, simple food, which God has provided in abundance. Men need to think less about what they shall eat and drink of temporal food, and much more in regard to the food from heaven, that will give tone and vitality to the whole religious experience.—[Letter 73, 1896] Medical Ministry, 283
    1 point
  28. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  29. phkrause

    Great Photo Shots!

    🏕️ Parting shot! Photo: Bill Rapai This photo of mule deer at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park in Washington was taken by reader Bill Rapai of Grosse Pointe, Mich., a couple weeks ago. He writes: "That's the Olympic Mountain Range in the background. We had just completed hiking one trail when these guys showed up near the parking lot. I followed them for a while, keeping a respectful distance, to get an image where the background was not full of cars and asphalt. I got my chance when they headed up this incline and fell into single file — just for me!"
    1 point
  30. Gustave

    It Is Time For A Change

    I'm in the same camp as phkrause. I'm also extremely sorry to hear about the severity of your eye condition. Pastor Matthews, you've set a very, very high bar for the next person attempting to fill your shoes.
    1 point
  31. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  32. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  33. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  34. Gregory Matthews

    Anlnual Council 2026

    The so-called Annual Coulncil is one pf two important meetings that are held by the General Conference each year. This 2026 meeting ended recently. In this thred provide you with links to information related to those meetings. The first set of links is kprovided by Spectrum. Annual Council–Friday–Focus on OneVoice27 and a Leader Resignation Over Korean Money Scandal Annual Council—Sunday—Membership Trends, Church Manual Concerns, and New VP Elected Annual Council 2026 – Monday: Church Finances Grow Despite Auditing Worries Annual Council 2026 – Tuesday and Wednesday: Newly-Elected NSD President and “Adventist Intelligence” Introduced To che ck on what Adventist Today might say about those lmeetilnggs see: https://atoday.org/
    1 point
  35. Asia Joe

    Food Allergy and Food Intolerance

    It’s estimated that 33 million people and 1 in 13 children in the United States have a food allergy, according to Food Allergy Research and Education (FARE). Although any food can cause an allergy, the Food and Drug Administration suggests that nine foods account for 90%Trusted Source of allergic reactions. Like a tree nut allergy, peanut allergies are very common and can cause severe and potentially fatal allergic reactions. The two conditions are considered distinct because peanuts are legumes. However, up to 40% of people with peanut allergies are also allergic to at least one tree nut. It’s estimated that over 6.2 million people in the United States have a peanut allergy, according to FARE. It’s the most common allergy in people ages 18 years and younger. However, 20%Trusted Source of children who develop a peanut allergy may find it resolves as they move into their teenage years. A tree nut allergy is an allergy to some of the nuts and seeds that come from trees. It’s a common food allergy that may affect up to 3%Trusted Source of people worldwide. Some examples of tree nuts include: Brazil nuts almonds cashews macadamia nuts pistachios pine nuts walnuts An allergy to cow’s milk is one of the most common childhood allergies, affecting 2–3%Trusted Source of babies and toddlers. Around 90% of children will outgrow the condition by the time they’re 3 years old, making it much less common in adults. Allergic reactions to cow’s milk may occur within minutes of consuming milk or up to several hours later. The only treatment for a cow’s milk allergy is to avoid it altogether. This includes foods and drinks that contain cow’s milk, such as: milk powder cheese butter margarine yogurt cream ice cream An egg allergy is the second most commonTrusted Source cause of food allergy in children. However, 68% of children allergic to eggs outgrow their allergy by the age of 16 years. It’s possible to be allergic to egg whites but not the yolks, and vice versa. This is because the proteins in egg whites and egg yolks differ slightly. Like other allergies, the treatmentTrusted Source for an egg allergy is an egg-free diet. However, you may not have to avoid all egg-related foods. A 2019 study found that nearly 67%Trusted Source of children with an egg allergy could tolerate eating muffins containing a cooked egg component. Heating eggs may change the shape of the allergy-causing proteins, which could stop your body from seeing them as harmful. ResearchTrusted Source also suggests that introducing baked goods to children with an egg allergy can shorten the time it takes for them to outgrow the condition. However, the results are conflicting, and more data is needed to confirm this. Speak with a healthcare professional before eating egg-containing foods if you’re allergic to eggs, as the consequences of ingesting eggs when you’re allergic to them can be severe. A wheat allergy is an allergic response to one of the proteins found in wheat. It’s more common in children, but they’ll often outgrow it by age 10 yearsTrusted Source. Wheat allergies may cause symptoms similar to celiac disease and food intolerances like non-celiac gluten sensitivity. However, a wheat allergy causes an immune-mediated response to one of the hundreds of proteins found in wheat. Celiac disease and non-celiac gluten sensitivity are caused by an abnormal reaction to glutenTrusted Source, which is one specific protein that also happens to be found in wheat. Allergic reactions to protein can be severe and sometimes even fatal. Celiac disease may also be fatalTrusted Source if left undiagnosed, though this is rare as most can successfully avoid gluten. Soy allergies are triggered by a protein in soybeans or soybean-containing products. They affect up to 0.5% of children and are most commonly seen in infants and children under 3 years old. Around 70% of children eventually outgrow the allergy. Symptoms can range from an itchy, tingly mouth and runny nose to a rash and asthma or breathing difficulties. In rare cases, a soy allergy can also cause anaphylaxis. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/common-food-allergies#faq
    1 point
  36. Hanseng

    Televangelist Jim Bakker

    I read Jim Bakker's book "I was Wrong." While in prison, he was harassed by a "Big Black Bubba" sort of guy. "Bubba" would drop by Bakker's cell, compliment him, tell him he was "cute," and make subtle and overt sexual remarks. Bakker described his absolute fear of being raped. Ultimately, he found the grit to stand up to "Bubba." He told him that he would never submit to his abominations, would fight with every ounce of his strength. "Bubba" sensed he meant it. "Bubba" stopped coming 'round. Jim left prison "intact." Good on him!
    1 point
  37. Hanseng

    Fasting

    I did a lot of fasting before I believed in Jesus. A man named Arnold Ehret (1866-1922) wrote a book--Rational Fasting for Spiritual, Physical, and Mental Rejuvenation, and a couple of others. Steve Jobs was influenced toward veganism/vegetarianism through one of his books. Lost, without hope in the world, I decided to go on a fast. More than three weeks without food. During those days, Jesus revealed Himself to me while I was reading the New Testament. Another of my friends died after a 60 day fast. Another fasted for two weeks with no obvious harm. EGW thought the true fast was eating a healthy diet. Avoiding flesh foods, alcohol, tobacco, crank, junk, marijuana, downers, dairy and eggs from unhealthy sources, might also be included. She advocated a two meal a day plan, excluding an evening meal. The contemporary WFPB diet is a kind of fast, with good results. Health Food History
    1 point
  38. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  39. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  40. Gregory Matthews

    Pornography

    Pornograkplhy I have recently beenadvised that the General Conference has a website which assists tlhe public in dealing with an addliction to pornography. Check it out if you think it might be of value to either you or so meone you know. https://gatewaytowholeness.com/
    1 point
  41. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  42. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  43. Rahab

    3 word devotional

    1 point
  44. Kevin H

    The authority of Ellen White...

    This is the point!!!!!!! Can God, even as a weakened creature, the the weakest point possible, facing true temptations, choose not sin. If he can, then it would prove that God is who God claims to be. If this did not happen, then it would mean that God wouldn't be God. The entire universe would be thrown into chaos. Creatures needed to know whether God really is God, or just some sort of higher evolved creature of the same essence as we are. If God is God, is God all that He claims to be, especially in relation to his law of self sacrificing love/self renouncing love; and in the question in how he will treat sinners with the apparent contradiction of being both just and merciful. If he's just, sin needs to meet it's results. That would kill all sinners and that would not be merciful. For God to be merciful, he needs to be able to forgive and if he's forgiving and merciful then doesn't this go against his claim to be just. Gustave, what is say is what indeed the `issue is and why Jesus had to have the free choice to truly face temptation and the sin issue with the real risk of failure answers the question: is God truly God? If Jesus failed, then God wouldn't be God.
    1 point
  45. phkrause

    Great Photo Shots!

    📸 Magic of the Mountain West Photo: Aaron Damiani Reader Aaron Damiani of Chicago sends this pic from Fort Smith, a small community in southern Montana, about 90 miles southeast of Billings: "I snapped this photo this weekend to share with my wife and kids the beauty of the Montana skies in Fort Smith, right as the sun was setting. In the Adirondack chairs are dear friends who were smoking cigars and taking it all in."
    1 point
  46. phkrause

    the Beatles

    The Fab Four The Beatles were a 20th-century British band credited with innovating the sound of popular music and, in the process, helping to legitimize rock 'n' roll as an art form. > How the Beatles became the most influential band on Earth. (More, w/podcast) > Explore Abbey Road Studios, the site of the first ever stereo recordings and home to most of the Beatles' songs. (More) The intense fandom for the band, called Beatlemania, began in the United Kingdom in 1963 but did not initially translate into success in the United States. In fact, the band's American label rejected the band's first two singles. Eventually, the band gained traction and then exploded after a 1964 appearance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." > Check out a list of the best Beatles songs. (More) > Watch the Beatles' performance on "The Ed Sullivan Show." (More, w/video) > The group was not an immediate success in the United States. (More) Although the band's recording career spanned a little over seven years, they released an astounding 13 LPs, averaging two a year. Among them were 1965's "Rubber Soul," 1966's "Revolver," and 1967's "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band," records that were cohesive, fully realized artistic statements, a concept that was still novel for the time. > The band stopped touring in 1966, citing frustration with the era's limited sound systems. (More) > The Beatles sued technology company Apple in 1978 to defend naming rights to their record label, Apple Corps. (More, w/video) Discover more: > The Beatles tried to get the rights to make a "Lord of the Rings" film starring the band members as Gollum, Frodo, Gandalf, and Samwise. (More) > "Tomorrow Never Knows," the final track from 1966's "Revolver," used innovative recording methods to redefine the sound of popular music. (More, w/video) > Explore all 58 famous figures portrayed on the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" album cover. (More)
    1 point
  47. phkrause

    the Beatles

    🎸 A new Beatles fan experience is coming to London's 3 Savile Row, where the Fab Four recorded "Let It Be" and held their famous rooftop final show. Paul McCartney says the team has "put together some really impressive plans, and I'm excited for people to see it when it's ready." Go deeper.
    1 point
  48. phkrause

    the Beatles

    New Beatles ‘Anthology’ projects will be released this fall Beatles fans will be feeling some “real love” for this: New content from the iconic band is coming this fall on screen, in music and in print. https://apnews.com/article/beatles-anthology-release-8016c7fcc29732158c642e29887ef67b?
    1 point
  49. rudywoofs (Pam)

    Epi-genetics: explanation for homosexuality

    While there's been a LOT of "discussion" and quotes from "authorities" on other C/A threads about homosexuality being "learned behavior" vs. genetic, I've noticed that nobody has brought up the new research about Epi-genetics as being the major contributing factor via "epi-markers" in producing homosexuality. It dispels the conclusions of identical twin studies, where based on the fact that one of the twins is gay, homosexuality *must* be a learned behavior because identical twins have identical DNA/genes. Not necessarily the case... Quote: The search for a "gay gene" may be off-target, new research finds. Another process called epigenetics that switches genes on and off may explain why homosexuality runs in families. Epigenetics are heritable changes caused by factors other than DNA. Instead of traits getting passed down through the genes, epigenetic change happens because of the way genes are regulated, or turned on and off. These genetic regulators may be the reason homosexuality persists in nature despite the fact that gay people are less likely to reproduce, suggests the new study published in the journal The Quarterly Review of Biology. "These things have evolved because they're good for the parents, but they sometimes, not [with] high frequency, but sometimes carry over" into offspring, study researcher William Rice, an evolutionary geneticist at the University of California, Santa Barbara, told LiveScience. In a male fetus, Rice and his colleagues write, an epigenetic change that benefited the mother may lead to "feminization" of sexual preference — homo- or bisexuality. The same may be true for epigenetic changes passed down by dad to a female fetus. (The terms feminization and masculinization of sexual preference refer to sexual orientation only — not to physical or personality traits of the offspring.) *snip* Rice and his colleagues focused on epi-marks, which are molecular changes that act like temporary "switches" to turn genes on and off. If a gene is a blueprint, the epi-mark is the construction foreman who makes sure the product gets built. An epi-mark also determines when, where and how much a gene is expressed, according to the National Institute for Mathematical and Biological Synthesis. These molecular switches are usually erased very early in the developmental process, but they can be passed down from generation to generation, too, Rice said. Some epi-marks are particularly important during fetal development, when they promote normal physical development in the sexes despite natural variations in testosterone during pregnancy. Researchers know that fetal exposure to too much testosterone can masculinize the genitals, brain or behavior of a genetically female fetus. Likewise, too little testosterone can make a genetically male fetus more feminized. But here's the catch: There's lots of overlap between the levels of testosterone male and female fetuses get exposed to. That means there must be another side to the story, Rice and his colleagues wrote. That side appears to be epigenetics, Rice said. "Early in development, we think these epi-marks are laid down so that girl fetuses will be relatively insensitive to testosterone and male fetuses will be relatively sensitive to testosterone," Rice said. Biological behavior Thus, if an epi-mark that kept a mother from getting exposed to high testosterone in development gets passed on to her son — the opposite sex — it could desensitize him to testosterone, contributing to his sexual preference for men. Similarly, if a male-specific epi-mark from dad gets passed to a daughter, it could "masculinize" her sexual preference, making her more interested in women. These findings could explain why twin studies show that homosexuality runs in families, but no "gay gene" can be found, Rice said. In identical twins, there's about a 20 percent chance that if one twin is gay, the other will be too. If genetic change were responsible for homosexuality, you'd expect a much higher match, Rice said. Epigenetics, however, can explain the heritability without the need for a specific genetic change. source Quarterly Review of Biology Report, Vol 87, No. 4, December 2012
    1 point
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