![the real gay flag the real gay flag](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c2/Bear_Brotherhood_flag.svg/1200px-Bear_Brotherhood_flag.svg.png)
The study, he said, makes clear both biology and one’s environment may be a factor that influences sexuality. C oauthor Benjamin Neale, a geneticist at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston and the Broad Institute, agreed.
![the real gay flag the real gay flag](https://imageio.forbes.com/specials-images/imageserve/60805e2ce9a27744e531f828/0x0.jpg)
“There’s a lot of room for nongenetic effects,” Bailey told Science News. One was discovered in a chain of DNA which includes several genes related to the sense of smell another one of the genes is related to male pattern baldness, which the authors said could suggest that sex hormone regulation may somehow be involved. While the variations in these genes are not enough to raise a rainbow flag and label anyone as unquestionably gay, the researchers say these biological variants may at the very least partly influence sexual behavior. The researchers' analysis identified five genes which are clearly connected with same-sex sexual attraction. 23andMe customers were asked what they found attractive in a sexual partner, about their sexual identity and their sexual fantasies. Volunteers answered questions about how many sexual partners they have had, and what kinds of sex they had had. Those hundreds of thousands of participants were found within two huge genetic databases: the home DNA testing company 23andMe, t he UK Biobank, as well as from three smaller studies. Michael Bailey, a N orthwestern University psychologist with experience in genetics, told Science News. “The study is a big step forward because of its huge size,” J.