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Sven Bocklandt

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

Sven Bocklandt
Born
🎓 Alma materGhent University (B.Sc.,M.Sc.) University of Antwerp (Ph.D.)
💼 Occupation
Known forWork on sexual orientation genetics

Epigenetic clocks

De-extinction of the dire wolf

Sven Bocklandt is a Belgian-American geneticist and former science journalist known for his research on the genetic basis of sexual orientation and his work at Colossal Biosciences to de-extinct the dire wolf.[1][2][3][4][5] He is one of the first developers of epigenetic clocks.[6]

Early life and education

Sven earned his Bachelor's degree in Biology and Master's in Biotechnology from Ghent University. He received his doctorate degree in Molecular Genetics from the University of Antwerp, Belgium.

Research and career

Science journalism

Bocklandt was also a science journalist for Belgian public television. He wrote and produced over 50 TV segments for the VRT program De Kip of Het Ei,[7] and two documentaries for Canvas program Over Leven, where he communicated complex scientific and technological breakthroughs to a broad prime time audience.[8][9] It was while working on a documentary that he first met geneticist Dean Hamer.[1]

Sexual orientation studies

See also: Biology and sexual orientation

Bocklandt began working as a post-graduate researcher in 2000, relocating from Belgium to the United States to work with geneticist Dean Hamer at the National Institute of Health in Washington, D.C. He remained at the NIH until 2003. Hamer previously published the study "A Linkage Between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation"[10] in 1993 that found evidence for unidentified genetic factors in the Xq28 band of the X chromosome that influence male sexual orientation.[11] In 2003, Bocklandt and Hamer published their hypothesis, along with a proposal of a hypothetical experiment to further explore their ideas, in a paper titled "Beyond hormones: a novel hypothesis for the biological basis of male sexual orientation"[2] in the Journal of Endocrinological Investigation. In 2005, Bocklandt and Hamer, along with other researchers, published another paper titled "A genome wide scan of male sexual orientation"[12] in the journal Human Genetics. This paper detailed their research, using a sample of 456 individuals from 146 families with two or more gay brothers. They did not find any links between homosexuality and Xq28; however, Bocklandt and the team insist that more research is needed, ending the abstract of the paper by saying "The results of this first genome screen for normal variation in the behavioral trait of sexual orientation in males should encourage efforts to replicate these findings in new samples with denser linkage maps in the suggested regions."[12]

Bocklandt continued to study the genetic basis of sexual orientation for the rest of the decade, publishing his final paper on the topic, "the genetics of sex differences in brain and behavior", in 2010.[13] Bocklandt has appeared in popular media, such as magazines, newspapers, TV and radio in Belgium,[9][14][15][16] the Netherlands,[17][18] the United States,[1][19][20][21][22][23][24][25] the United Kingdom[26][27] and Australia.[28]

The biological basis for sexual orientation remains poorly understood. In 2019, Ganna et al. published a paper in the journal Science titled "Large scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior",[29] which concluded that sexual orientation is significantly influenced by not just one or a few genes but by many, along with non-genetic factors.

The epigenetic clock

In 2003, Bocklandt began working on post-doctoral research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Bocklandt, along with Steve Horvath and Eric Vilain, developed and patented an epigenetic method to predict the age of an individual with a reported average accuracy of 5.2 years.[6][30] They published their work in 2011 in the online journal PLOS One. While Bocklandt didn’t pursue further work on the epigenetic clock, Horvath did continue its development, with the clock now commonly named after Horvath.[31]

Genomics

In 2010 Bocklandt left UCLA and in 2014 began working at Bionano Genomics as the VP Director of scientific affairs and corporate communication.[32][8]

Animal genetic engineering

In 2006, Bocklandt co-founded the company Felix Pets[33] with the goal of producing the first hypoallergenic cat through gene-editing. The company reportedly used the gene editing tools ZFN, TALEN, and CRISPR-Cas9[34][35] for this purpose. Bocklandt holds patents for methods for producing hypoallergenic cats.[34][36]

Dire wolf "de-extinction"

See also: Romulus, Remus, and Khaleesi

In June 2022, Bocklandt joined Colossal Biosciences as a Species Director.[37][38][39] There, he participated in work that created modified gray wolves utilizing DNA recovered from fossilized remains of dire wolves, an extinct species. Bocklandt extracted DNA from the only two dire wolf specimens known to contain usable DNA -- a 13,000-year-old tooth found in Sheridan Pit, Ohio, and a 72,000-year-old ear bone from American Falls, Idaho.[4] A total of 16.2x coverage of the dire wolf genome was generated from these two samples and used to analyze the ancestry of the extinct dire wolf, published in a study preprint.[40] Bocklandt also contributed to analysis of the genome of the extinct blue antelope, or bluebuck.[41]

Colossal Biosciences has described this as the de-extinction of the dire wolf.[42] The claim of de-extinction has been disputed on the basis that the animals created are hybridized gray wolves and not instances of the extinct dire wolf species. This work has also been criticized as a distraction from conservation efforts necessary to avert the extinction of living animals.[43]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "The Real Story on Gay Genes". Discover Magazine. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Bocklandt, S.; Hamer, D. H. (2003). "Beyond hormones: a novel hypothesis for the biological basis of male sexual orientation". Journal of Endocrinological Investigation. 26 (3 Suppl): 8–12. ISSN 0391-4097. PMID 12834013.
  3. ↑ Bocklandt, Sven; Horvath, Steve; Vilain, Eric; Hamer, Dean H. (February 2006). "Extreme skewing of X chromosome inactivation in mothers of homosexual men". Human Genetics. 118 (6): 691–694. doi:10.1007/s00439-005-0119-4. ISSN 0340-6717. PMID 16369763.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Colossal Biosciences (2025-04-07). The Making of the Colossal Dire Wolves - World's First De-Extinction. Retrieved 2025-04-08 – via YouTube.
  5. ↑ "How to Start a Career in De-Extinction". Colossal. 2023-10-04. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Bocklandt, Sven; Lin, Wen; Sehl, Mary E.; Sánchez, Francisco J.; Sinsheimer, Janet S.; Horvath, Steve; Vilain, Eric (2011). "Epigenetic predictor of age". PLOS ONE. 6 (6): e14821. Bibcode:2011PLoSO...614821B. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0014821. ISSN 1932-6203. PMC 3120753. PMID 21731603.
  7. ↑ Henk Hagenbeuk (2017-03-05). Kip en het Ei: de DVD Uitzending BRT 1997. Retrieved 2025-05-24 – via YouTube.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Sven Bocklandt | VIB Conferences".
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "'Het is en blijft een taboe-onderwerp' Wetenschapper Sven Bocklandt over het homogen' | De Morgen". myprivacy.dpgmedia.be. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  10. ↑ Hamer, D. H.; Hu, S.; Magnuson, V. L.; Hu, N.; Pattatucci, A. M. (1993-07-16). "A linkage between DNA markers on the X chromosome and male sexual orientation". Science. 261 (5119): 321–327. Bibcode:1993Sci...261..321H. doi:10.1126/science.8332896. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 8332896.
  11. ↑ ""A Linkage Between DNA Markers on the X Chromosome and Male Sexual Orientation" (1993), by Dean H. Hamer and Charles A. Thomas. | Embryo Project Encyclopedia". embryo.asu.edu. Retrieved 2025-05-06.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 Mustanski, Brian S.; Dupree, Michael G.; Nievergelt, Caroline M.; Bocklandt, Sven; Schork, Nicholas J.; Hamer, Dean H. (March 2005). "A genomewide scan of male sexual orientation". Human Genetics. 116 (4): 272–278. doi:10.1007/s00439-004-1241-4. ISSN 0340-6717. PMID 15645181.
  13. ↑ Ngun, Tuck C.; Ghahramani, Negar; Sánchez, Francisco J.; Bocklandt, Sven; Vilain, Eric (April 2011). "The genetics of sex differences in brain and behavior". Frontiers in Neuroendocrinology. 32 (2): 227–246. doi:10.1016/j.yfrne.2010.10.001. ISSN 1095-6808. PMC 3030621. PMID 20951723.
  14. ↑ Serneels, Katrijn (22 September 2005). "'Op zoek naar het homogen' | De Morgen". myprivacy.dpgmedia.be. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  15. ↑ "De genen van de geaardheid". De Standaard (in Nederlands). 2007-04-10. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  16. ↑ Knack, Redactie (2017-08-04). "Bestaat het homogen? Seksuele geaardheid is geen zwart-witbeeld". Knack (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  17. ↑ "Homo zijn zit in de genen". EOS Wetenschap (in Nederlands). Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  18. ↑ Van Der Schoot, Derwin (29 December 2012). "Heeft Darwin een relatie met de homo? | de Volkskrant". Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  19. ↑ Motluk, Alison (9 November 2004). "Mothers' genetic skew linked to gay sons". New Scientist. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  20. ↑ Hamer, Dean (12 October 2015). "'Gay test' fear mustn't derail work on sexuality's genetic basis". New Scientist. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  21. ↑ Ker Than (2006-02-24). "Mom's Genetics Could Produce Gay Sons". Live Science. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  22. ↑ Dotinga, Randy (2006-06-26). "Homosexuality Again Linked to Biological Factors". www.healthday.com. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  23. ↑ Swidey, Neil (August 14, 2005). "What makes people gay? - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  24. ↑ France, David (2007-06-15). "The Science of Gaydar - New Research on Everything From Voice Pitch to Hair Whorl -- New York Magazine - Nymag". New York Magazine. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  25. ↑ Naked Science (2016-11-09). In the Womb - Identical Twins. Retrieved 2025-05-25 – via YouTube.
  26. ↑ newspapers, McClatchy (2008-12-01). "US researchers find evidence that homosexuality linked to genetics". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  27. ↑ "BBC One - The Making of Me, John Barrowman". BBC. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  28. ↑ "Is being gay in your biology?". ABC listen. 2008-08-02. Retrieved 2025-05-25.
  29. ↑ Ganna, Andrea; Verweij, Karin J. H.; Nivard, Michel G.; Maier, Robert; Wedow, Robbee; Busch, Alexander S.; Abdellaoui, Abdel; Guo, Shengru; Sathirapongsasuti, J. Fah; 23andMe Research Team; Lichtenstein, Paul; Lundström, Sebastian; Långström, Niklas; Auton, Adam; Harris, Kathleen Mullan (2019-08-30). "Large-scale GWAS reveals insights into the genetic architecture of same-sex sexual behavior". Science. 365 (6456): eaat7693. doi:10.1126/science.aat7693. PMC 7082777 Check |pmc= value (help). PMID 31467194.
  30. ↑ "Dr. Sven Bocklandt's Profile Page". Informatics from Technology Networks. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  31. ↑ Horvath, Steve (2013). "DNA methylation age of human tissues and cell types". Genome Biology. 14 (10): R115. doi:10.1186/gb-2013-14-10-r115. ISSN 1474-760X. PMC 4015143. PMID 24138928. (Erratum: doi:10.1186/s13059-015-0649-6, PMID 25968125,  Retraction Watch. If the erratum has been checked and does not affect the cited material, please replace {{Erratum|...}} with {{Erratum|...|checked=yes}}.)
  32. ↑ "New Developments in Long Read Optical Mapping Enable Novel Applications for Cancer and Genetic Disease". bionanogenomics. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  33. ↑ https://felixpets.com/
  34. ↑ 34.0 34.1 US20200008405A1, Avner, David B.; Sven Bocklandt & James Kehler, "Methods for producing hypo-allergenic cats using gene editing technology", issued 2020-01-09 
  35. ↑ "Why We Do What We Do | Felix Pets". Archived from the original on 2025-04-08. Retrieved 2025-04-08.
  36. ↑ US10626417B2, Avner, David B.; James Kehler & Sven Bocklandt, "Method of genetically altering and producing allergy free cats", issued 2020-04-21 
  37. ↑ "VRT MAX". www.vrt.be. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  38. ↑ "LAS Annual Meeting 2024 - Keynote Address 1". sites.google.com. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  39. ↑ "Growing the most difficult cell lines in history". cellmicrosystems.com. 23 September 2024. Retrieved 2025-05-24.
  40. ↑ Gedman, Gregory L.; Pirovich, Kathleen Morrill; Oppenheimer, Jonas; Hyseni, Chaz; Cassatt-Johnstone, Molly; Alexandre, Nicolas; Troy, William; Chao, Chris; Fedrigo, Olivier (2025-04-11), On the ancestry and evolution of the extinct dire wolf, bioRxiv, doi:10.1101/2025.04.09.647074, retrieved 2025-05-24
  41. ↑ Hempel, Elisabeth; Faith, J. Tyler; Preick, Michaela; de Jager, Deon; Barish, Scott; Hartmann, Stefanie; Grau, José H.; Moodley, Yoshan; Gedman, Gregory; Pirovich, Kathleen Morrill; Bibi, Faysal; Kalthoff, Daniela C.; Bocklandt, Sven; Lamm, Ben; Dalén, Love (2024-05-06). "Colonial-driven extinction of the blue antelope despite genomic adaptation to low population size". Current Biology. 34 (9): 2020–2029.e6. Bibcode:2024CBio...34.2020H. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2024.03.051. ISSN 1879-0445. PMID 38614080 Check |pmid= value (help).
  42. ↑ Kluger, Jeffrey (2025-04-07). "The Return of the Dire Wolf". TIME. Retrieved 2025-04-09.
  43. ↑ Hochuli, Dieter; Salvatori, Marco; Boer-Cueva, Martín; Banks, Peter (2025-04-15). "'De-extinction' of dire wolves promotes false hope: technology can't undo extinction". The Conversation. Retrieved 2025-05-06.


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