Genetically We are All Different, Particularly in the Brain

Anti-transgender people frequently make the argument that every cell in the body has the same DNA which makes one male or female, through and through, and forever. They argue this from antiquated notions of genetics that they may have learned in junior high school. They argue that being transgender has no biological basis because all brains are either male or female, by their DNA, and must generate, respectively, masculine or feminine behavior unless errors in training occur. This contention defies the almost universal practice of sex determination at birth using external genitalia anatomy. This is the basis they use for denying the legitimacy and existence of transgender people, for supporting gender change efforts (reparative/conversion therapy) and for validating cultural gender behavior rules and norms. Some cite ancient religious documents that evoke spirituality in support of their arguments.

They are wrong.

Her right eye is green. Her left eye is blue.

The biology they cite is simplistic and incorrect. Recent evidence reinforces the scientific conclusion that humans are mosaics, that is, they do not have the same DNA in each cell. This is particularly true for the human organ that generates behavior—the brain. The most striking examples of mosaic phenomena occur in cats in which eyes or fur or skin color can be different, but there are examples in humans for eye color. There are also examples of female humans with cells in their sex organs that do not have the same DNA as those elsewhere. In fact, this DNA has the same configuration as that found in male relatives.

In my previous posts I pointed out several bits of scientific fact that refute their arguments:

• About ¾ of the cells (29 trillion or so) in the body have no DNA at all, they are red blood cells which have lost their DNA during creation.
• In the womb, you get cells from your mother (she also gets some of yours)
• In the womb, you may have gotten cells from previous children which your mother carried (including your brothers and sisters).
• You may get cells from other children present in the same womb which have different DNA from you (e.g. fraternal twins)
• You may get cells from other people through bone marrow and other transplants.
• Many genes are “jumping genes” that move around the DNA molecule and change it; if you look for a particular gene, it will only show up in its expected location about 65 percent of the time.
• Most all females are mosaics because they typically have two X chromosomes and only one gene in a particular location on one or the other X chromosome can be expressed or followed in each cell.
• The brain, the generator of behavior, seems to be a safe haven for foreign cells, for example, male cells have been detected in the brain in females after bone marrow transplants. Otherwise they would be attacked and killed by your immune system.

Dog eyes.

Cat eyes.

And now in the past few months, we know that all 100 billion neuron cells in the brain have different DNA from one another. Scientists have recently developed the exquisite capability of analyzing the DNA from a single cell which indicates an astounding diversity. These cells are important because neurons are the active cells that do our thinking, learning and generate behaviors, some of which culture considers to be gender behaviors. And now we can understand better how they operate on an individual genetic level.

“…the human brain contains approximately 100 billion neurons, and we now know that there may be almost as many unique cell types.” “While it was traditionally believed that every cell in the body contained identical genetic material, recent evidence has revealed that individual neurons actually differ significantly due to somatic DNA mutations and rearrangements…””Brain cells in particular may be as unique as the people to which they belong. This genetic, molecular, and morphological diversity of the brain leads to functional variation that is likely necessary for the higher-order cognitive processes that are unique to humans.” (Linker, Gage and Bedrosian)

“Somatic” here refers to body cells other than those which combine in conception. 

From this research we now know that there are a host of mechanisms at work that create genetic diversity in the brain. These are some of the epigenetic processes that may interfere with transgender genes being expressed. You will remember that DNA is chopped up into 46 pieces called chromosomes. At the cellular level we now know that some cells have numbers of chromosomes that differ from the usual 46. Some chromosomes are broken and may recombine. And individual genes on the chromosomes are constantly changing. As part of our memory mechanisms, DNA breaks apart in the brain due to increased neural activity, perhaps consolidating memories when they repair themselves. Neural cells are constantly changing and those changes can be observed by counting remnants of the cell copying process, the so-called Copy Number Variants (CNV).

True to Puritanical form, so far, no investigations have been conducted regarding gene differences in single cells involved in sexual development but those studies are likely in the future. The techniques for single cell DNA analysis have only been established in the past few months. Studies for gender behavior predisposition, of course, have not been considered at all. Research is currently concentrated on the “hot” diseases of current particular interest, such as autism, bipolar disorder or epilepsy. That is because U.S. medical funding institutions are generally organized around supporting research into diseases and disorders, not basic research to establish causation of behavior. We know some of the genes involved in differences in sexual development (otherwise known as intersex) but not all of them. We do not know all the genes that are involved in gender predisposition. Although several science initiatives have guessed as to which might be involved and observing differences and increase copy number variants, these were shots in the dark. We are still waiting for the whole genome study results from the Medical College of Georgia which have identified involvement of about 25 genes and the large-scale proposed, but so far unfunded, Vanderbilt study that I have cited in previous blogs.

A dramatically different cat.

Instead of asserting that all cells in the body have the same DNA, the anti-transgender people should be marveling at the splendid diversity of people which is caused by the diversity of gene formations in the brain. Our strength as a species does not depend on uniform gene or neuronal “hard-wired” configurations. It instead depends on biological and behavioral diversity in the brain that can learn and adapt to new situations. You never know when some transgender person is going to get a thought or make an invention that will change the world. Lynn Conway did it when she invented the modern computer.

We must also recognize that we are not born as a blank slate and believe that we only consist of a vessel which implements the learning from our parents and culture. We are born with at least 4 billion years of knowledge, passed down from our forebears. Some of this knowledge, like gender behavior predisposition cannot be modified by learning, despite the violence and brainwashing of reparative/conversion efforts and rejection by culture.

While our bodies are formed by biology, our culture has been created by humans. We are not responsible for being born into a cisgender, binary, rigid culture but we can change the culture. Culture involves knowledge and customs that are learned from parents and others and it is historically and geographically diverse. It is not immutable. Anti-transgender people typically are defenders of the current Western culture. Change may not be easy to achieve but it is possible.

Neurons in the brain.

Finally, there is some mechanism within us that resonates when we have a spiritual experience. Churches, holy books and religions are designed by humans to provide such experiences but they can happen in other ways. One of my spiritual experiences occurred a few years back, when I was learning single neuron recording which involves putting a very small wire into the brain to eavesdrop on a neuron. I hooked up the output to a speaker, after amplification, and heard the sharp popping noise of a neuron “firing” and sending its electro-chemical signal to other neurons. And I could hear others far away echoing the “popping.” For the first time, I heard the brain in operation and it was a spiritual experience. Here was a single cell announcing its information to the brain and the world and others “talking back”! When I heard about the diversity of brain neurons that resulted from these most recent single-cell gene analysis results, I had a similar spiritual experience. I can visualize a network of 100 million neurons, each with the freedom to “pop off” when they want to in order to coordinate the running of the body, remember things and shape behavior.

Yet another set of scientific facts to refute the idea that every cell has the same DNA. Hold the anti-trans people to the facts.

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Tags: DNA, featured, science, Transgender

Category: Transgender Body & Soul