Human Males Evolve At a Faster Pace Than Females

Tisha_AH writes "A report by the Whitehead Institute indicates that the human Y chromosome present in males is evolving at a furious pace. Across the chromosome there can be as much as a 33% difference within humans alone. The portions of the chromosome evolving fastest are related to sperm production."

Comments

Re:I thought the Y chromosome contained nothing

[mcgrew]

The idea was that the Y chromosome has almost nothing on it and is little more than a female to male switch.

That's completely contrary to what the biochemists are quoted as saying in TFA. I'll bet your prof was a female feminist. A little thought shows her wrong -- where else would male pattern baldness come from? Or facial and chest hair?

Re:Ahh the womens groups...

[mcgrew]

To a feminist, many irrefutable facts are sexist.

Re:"Curiouser and curiouser!" Cried Alice

[mcgrew]

evolutionary biology suggest the y chromosome is a shrivelled up little thing fast loosing genes

Well, loosing genetic material once it goes into the egg is what the sperm is for, now isn't it?

this seems to suggest that there's not only great complexity in development but that sperm and egg are in competition.

That is the most ludicrous thing I've heard all day. The X and Y sperm are in competetion; every sperm competes with every other sperm to reach the egg. I get the idea that you misunderstood a whole lot of what they said in your biology class.

what are the consequences of 'faster' evolution and can such consequences be considered in anything but out of context, almost trivial generalities?

You obviously didn't read (or perhaps comprehend) TFA.

Re:Ahh the womens groups...

[mcgrew]

Sorry to rant on you but the 6000 number is getting old. I would be willing to bet cold hard cash 99.9% of 'religious groups' do not even believe that number.

Thank you for that. I know a lot of religious people (including myself) and not ONE of them believes the earth is only 6,000 years old. And every one of them believs that evolution works the way God wants it to. And you're right about the athiest zealots, too. You can't mention religion at all without at least one mod modding you down.

Re:"Curiouser and curiouser!" Cried Alice

[mcgrew]

i get the idea you're an asshole troll

If I were I would have more than 20 freaks and far fewer than my 200+ fans, and I wouldn't have excellent karma. If you think you know everything you can never learn, especially when all you do when someone tries to inform you is insult them.