Scientists have found the gay gene - in nematode worms. The worms have two sexes, male and hermaphrodite. Hermaphrodites can fertilize their own eggs, but only mate with males, never with other hermaphrodites. By switching one of the genes in nematodes’ teeny brains, scientists were able to make hermaphroditic worms attracted to one another.

This is neat, but I’m not sure that discovering the genetic or physical basis of gayness is that important to human gay rights. There certainly is a physical basis for hetero sexuality, and that hasn’t made the conservatives any more tolerant of contraceptives, Plan B, or the HPV vaccine. Still, the lead author of the worm study made my head explode a little bit when he said “They [the gay worms] look like girls but they act like boys.” Sexuality does not equal gender, even in worms.*

*Yes, Scott, this thought is attributed to your theory-of-sexuality expounding self.