Sven Bocklandt, University of California, Los Angeles, will discuss his current research which continues the groundbreaking work of Simon LeVay and Dean Hamer in the 1990 ™s which claimed that homosexual orientation could be genetically passed to men on the x chromosome which they get from their mothers.

Dr Qazi Rahman, Psychobiologist, City University and author of Born Gay will argue how attempts to find a sociological cause for homosexuality have little foundation. He ™ll also discuss male versus female sexuality: how men tend to be more polarized between gay and straight and how women tend to be more fluid in their sexuality.

Bocklandt and Rahman will be joined by Jeffrey Weeks a British academic, sociologist, social historian, and gay activist who will look at the other interpretations of sexuality.

With advances in our understanding of genetics and developmental biology, can scientists really offer an answer to sexual preference? Can biological explanations of sexuality really explain the full diversity of human sexuality? Perhaps some answers do lay in society and upbringing.

Sourcing Sexuality will take place at the Dana Centre - the Science Museum ™s ambient and acclaimed bar and caf?© in the heart of South Kensington dedicated to discussing contemporary science, health, medicine and technology in a cultural context “ on Tuesday 18 July. A live webcast of the event can be viewed at www.danacentre.

Kat Nilsson, Event Manager Dana Centre added: The study of human sexuality is often portrayed through sensationalist rhetoric. Yet, there is much work being done that gives greater insights into this, one of the most important biological human drives. This event will open up a vital debate about the origins of human sexuality.

nmsi.ac/

The scientists genetically removed JNK1 to test if its increased activation, caused by the absence of IKKb, was responsible for accelerated tumor development. When JNK1 was removed, the number and size of cancerous liver tumors decreased, and the tumors grew more slowly. Increased JNK1 activation was found in diseased liver and tumors when compared to normal tissue.

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, is the third leading cause of cancer deaths worldwide. Its major risk factors are persistent infection with hepatitis B and C viruses, and exposure to toxic chemicals, including alcohol “ all of which cause chronic liver injury and inflammation. Although not common in the United States., the incidence of HCC is on an upward trajectory, with little hope for treatment or cure through chemotherapy, radiation or other traditional cancer treatments.

"We now understand development of liver cancer in mice. Since inflammation drives both damage and regeneration in liver tissue, it is the repeating cycle of damage, inflammation and regeneration that leads to liver cancer," said Karin. "However, this knowledge is not satisfactory until we find out if it applies to humans."

Contributors to the paper include Toshiharu Sakurai, UCSD Laboratory of Gene Regulation and Signal Transduction and Kyoto University, Japan; Shin Maeda, UCSD and the Asahi Life Foundation, Tokyo; and Lufen Chang, UCSD and the Beckman Research Institute at City of Hope National Medical Center, Duarte, CA.

The research was supported by the National Institutes of Health and the Superfund Basic Research Program. Karin is an American Cancer Society Research Professor.

health.ucsd/