Scientists: Boy's odds of being gay traced to womb

The article identifies an interesting correlation -- the chances of any particular boy being gay increases with the number of male children his mother had before bearing him. Interesting indeed. This stands in constrast to the prior studies identifying the "gay gene."

True to form, the media is all over this, but I've grown to distrust the media when it comes to their reporting of scientific studies. Here's why.

They really don't have any idea about scientific research, how to analyze it, or how to critically analyze the methods. One small mistake (using the wrong method, taking an improper sample, etc.) can yield false results, and the media assumedly does not check for error, who funded the project, or methodological validity before they jump in front of the camera to be the first to drop a "new discovery."

This reminds me of Al Gore's "hundreds" of climate researchers who gave his new film, "An Inconvenient Truth" "five stars for accuracy." The AP reported this story but failed to name any more than five of the scientists that were referenced. Further, the specialization of the "majority" of scientists that validate his claims is not the cause of climate change, but the effects.

What's more is that the majority of the studies that he refers do not directly support his claims, and some of them actually deny them. The specific "scientific data" he cites (the one claiming a drastic reduction in the polar ice caps and a dramatic increase in temperature) wasn't built properly. First, the study measured one section of the polar ice cap in October during the 60's right in the middle of a cooling trend, and the second measured a different section, using different technology, during September (a warmer month) during the 90's. The second test just happened to be conducted right in the middle of a warming trend. When conducting research, it's always a good idea to compare apples with apples, rather than apples with steamboats.

The truth is this: Al Gore is a politician, not a researcher. He's struggling desperately to build himself a platform for the upcoming Presidential race that he's "not running" in. He has to attach his name to something, and globaly warming didn't have any other candidates attached to it, so he chose that.

Politics....