A scientist at Oregon Health and Science University whose research focuses on why some sheep are homosexual has drawn savage attacks from animal-welfare groups, gay-rights activists, and bioethicists. And according to today’s New York Times, much of the vitriol stems from a simple — or willful — misunderstanding of the research that has been abetted by irresponsible reports in the news media and the fearmongering common to advocacy groups. The scientist, Charles Roselli, says his research is not intended to prove anything about human homosexuality, to turn gay people into straights, or to undermine the biological basis of homosexuality. The research is backed by the National Institutes of Health and published in major journals. And some people have leapt to his defense. But, to his tendentious critics, none of that matters. As the Times puts it, his case is “a textbook example of the distortion and vituperation that can result when science meets the global news cycle.”