2 April 2013

Geneticist predicts sex free dystopian future

| Barcham
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I added the dystopian part. That was a lie. Sorry.

Professor Jennifer Graves from the University of Canberra has predicted the end of sex, specifically the male sex. Sounds interesting.

During a lecture tonight, hosted by the Australian Academy of Science, thinker-in-residence with the University of Canberra’s Institute for Applied Ecology Jennifer Graves will describe how the map of the marsupial genome is unlocking genetic secrets with deep implications for human health.

“Sex is nothing but trouble…genetically,” Professor Graves said. “The chromosome that carries the sex determining gene loses active genes, so this creates the problem that males and females have different dosages of genes. Males have only one copy of the X chromosome, which contains more than a thousand genes, while Y has only 45 genes. If one of these is mutated, they have no backup.”

Professor Graves is an evolutionary geneticist who works on Australian animals, including kangaroos and platypus, devils (Tasmanian) and dragons (lizards). Her research team uses their distant relationship to humans to discover how genes and chromosomes and regulatory systems evolved, and how they work in all animals including us humans.

Never fear male members of our readership, this won’t be occurring anytime soon. Anyone keen to check out the lecture?

‘Weird Animal Genomes, Sex and the Future of Men’ will be delivered by tonight at 6pm at the Shine Dome, Australian Academy of Science, Gordon St, Acton.

More information and RSVP details here.

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Dilandach said :

There was a sliders episode on this…

Better yet, did anyone think of Angel One, the planet where the men are titchy little wussbags? For top amusement factor just GIS “angel one”.

harvyk1 said :

gooterz said :

No one knows how genes work and less is known about how they change over time other than evolution. The X chromosome holds data for both men and women, seeing that both genders have X and Y.

Not quite true, only men have Y, (an X and a Y) whilst women only have X (two X’s).

Before you completely write us men off for good, there is a species of mouse which has lost it’s Y chromosome, however other genetic factors have kicked in to ensure that there are still two genders at play.

Its true that women only have X and men have X and Y, but there might be instructions on the Y that tell the cells to use parts of the X that the women don’t use.
97% of DNA is junk DNA.

Its also true that the average Penis size is getting larger (And not as a result of those emails)

gooterz said :

No one knows how genes work and less is known about how they change over time other than evolution. The X chromosome holds data for both men and women, seeing that both genders have X and Y.

Not quite true, only men have Y, (an X and a Y) whilst women only have X (two X’s).

Before you completely write us men off for good, there is a species of mouse which has lost it’s Y chromosome, however other genetic factors have kicked in to ensure that there are still two genders at play.

Hm, I was console myself with the fact she’s only a UC academic and could then very well be wrong – then realised she also a Professor at ANU… and University of Melbourne too.

Oh well, 5 millions years is a long time before men become endangered.

And scrub showers in a manly sort of way…

I use the Gerni.

And according to Wikipedia.. Y has 450 genes not 45…. Is she actually a scientist?

If one of those genes mutates, in all 3 billion men world wide?

No one knows how genes work and less is known about how they change over time other than evolution. The X chromosome holds data for both men and women, seeing that both genders have X and Y.

Its apparent in most animals that having 2 genders is genetically important. Anything in the Y gene is expressed in every generation, although it is capable of getting mutated without a “backup” having no backup means that that mutation wont stick around.

Its more likely that humans will split into several different races incapable of inbreeding much more like The time machine with Eloi and Morlocks.

Its worth pointing out that humans used to have 48 chromosomes, 0.1% of men have 47,XYY.
It wouldn’t take much for XYY to become more common and then mutations of X onto Y would form a new gender completely based off the current male DNA.

it took 200,000 years to have a common female ancestor with 10’s of thousands of people. Now we have 7 billion. We have the same chance as men turning back into monkeys.

What’s this talk of the future? Most married men that I know of experience a sex-free dystopian present.

johnboy said :

Fortunately we’ll still be able to build shelves and mow the lawn.

Oh great. So now I have to up-skill to be relevant.

Yes, well, I usually try and avoid rank generalisations about the sexes. But is memory associated with two X chromosomes, given that neither ED seems to remember that we had this same story very recently?:

http://the-riotact.com/weird-animal-genomes-sex-and-the-future-of-men/96483

Now, how are those shelves going? Oh, that’s just lovely.

johnboy said :

Fortunately we’ll still be able to build shelves and mow the lawn.

And scrub showers in a manly sort of way…

hey hey now, you also need to take out the garbage and open jars

poor men

There was a sliders episode on this… although it was mainly from guys being nearly extinct and highly prized by the countries that owned them.

of course there were also episodes that featured a world with women the dominate sex and another where women had little whispy goatees. Great show.

Fortunately we’ll still be able to build shelves and mow the lawn.

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