Is There a Gay Gene Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Is There a Gay Gene - Essay Example J. Kallman's and W. W. Schlegel's findings in the 1940s showed that twins had a 100 percent concordance rate for homosexual orientation, where concordance is defined as the level of similarity existing for different characteristics. Although the results seemed overwhelmingly high, they laid the base for further studies. In 1991, J. Michael Bailey and Richard C. Pillard conducted a similar experiment comparing identical twins, fraternal twins, and nongenetically related adopted brothers. The genetics of sexual orientation are not quite so straightforward, but there is no doubt that becoming gay is influenced by a genetic predisposition. In one study, it was reported that 52% of monozygotic twins of gay men were also gay, but this figure dropped to 22% for dizygotic twins. (1) Dr. Hamer in 1991 from the Department of Biochemistry at the national Institute of Health began a study - possible genetic natire of homosexuality. He chose to study markers on the X chromosome because there was already evidence for a preponderance of gay men on the maternal side of families. Hamer hypothesized the different ways that a genetic disorder could be expressed in a person. He began theorizing around both autosomal dominant and autosomal recessive inheritances, but realized neither could work. For the gay gene to be autosomal dominant, 50% of the children of a family would be homosexual, and while this fact was true with some of his volunteers, there were not sufficient amounts of data to validate the hypothesis. An autosomal recessive inheritance would result in 25% of the children to be homosexual, another fact that was not easily supported. Hamer's breakthrough came during the interview of one of his volunteers; the volunteer suggested that the gene could be hidden on one of the sex chromosomes. Hamer continued his probing and research. After mapping out family trees, he collected DNA samples from his volunteers and their mothers, making extra samples and storing them for later analysis. (2)As a trial run, he began to test markers on the X chromosomes of the samples of blood from the gay volunteers. Using sib-pairs, a way of telling if brothers are concordant (sharing the same X chromosome from their mother) or discordant (one child inheriting one X chromosome from their mother, and the other child inheriting the second X chromosome), Hamer quickly learned that most of the gay brothers were concordant, therefore making it highly possible that a genetic link could be found. He began testing in random clusters, focusing around the region Xq28 (X for the chromosome, q for the arm, and 28 for the position on the arm). Researchers say it's the first time the entire human genetic makeup has been scanned in search of possible genetic determinants of male sexual orientation. The results suggest that several genetic regions may influence homosexuality. Identical twins, for instance, share the same set of chromosomal patterns. Therefore, if one twin's DNA has a homosexual genetic trait, then it is inevitable that both twins will be homosexuals. However, that is not the case with all twins. When one twin is homosexual, the probability of the other identical twin being homosexual is 50 percent. Thus, the "gay"-gene theory

Culture unit 9 Human resources Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Culture unit 9 Human resources - Research Paper Example A health care organization must stay on top of the latest technological advances in the medical industry. New technologies can provide more income opportunities, greater productivity, and better efficiency. Quality and patient safety are two principles that must be followed by all health care organizations. Organizations in this industry that do not emphasize creating a corporate culture in which safety is top priority may face unwanted business risks such as the potential of a lawsuit for medical malpractice. Maintaining high quality standards is important towards the success of any organization. A corporate culture can help managers create a platform in which the quality versus cost debate is considered in the decision making process of the executives of the organization. Choosing quality over cost is a better long term strategy because it can increase the customer retention rate of the company. Hospitals have to make changes to their operations to adapt to the changing health care environment of the 21st century. A way to determine the needs of hospitals is by hiring a consultant to assess the business operations of a hospital. Changes in the coverage of medical plans must be closely monitored by hospitals each month. This can prevent a hospital from admitting a patient under the erroneous assumption that the medical plan will pay for the medical procedure. Another change that hospitals must pay attention too is changes in the compensation for medical professionals. Higher labor costs are forcing hospitals to adjust the fees they charge to its customers. A dysfunctional culture often occurs due to the presence of miscommunication and bad relationships among the employees of a firm (Calvert, 2009). There are different steps that companies can take to change dysfunctional cultures. The first step is to emphasize the importance of communication in the workplace. A firm suffering from a dysfunctional culture can implement a feedback system to gain insight