Study Explains Why Women Miscarry More Males During Tough Times

sciencehabit writes In times of trouble, multiple studies have shown, more girls are born than boys. No one knows why, but men need not worry about being overrun by women. An analysis of old church records in Finland has revealed that the boys that are born in stressful times survive better than those born during less challenging periods. The work helps explain why women may have evolved a tendency to abort certain males and could lead to a better understanding of miscarriages.

Comments

You are not in control

[NotQuiteReal]

The selfish gene wins.

Maybe it needs global climate change for the next step...

Re:You are not in control

[Viol8]

Sadly true. While I agree with most of what he says wrt evolution the way he says it really gets up my nose. He doesn't seem to understand that you don't get people on side by calling them idiots and trashing their entire belief system. That just gets their backs up and sends them off in the opposite direction to what you intended.

Re:You are not in control

[epyT-R]

I think he considers belief as part of the problem. It's an emotional attachment to a position that lacks evidence. People who get butthurt over being challenged are the ones with the problem. The problem is that today, the culture increasingly defends people with strong emotional positions and sensitivity at the expense of rationality and learning what is. The censorious policy that backs this is the primary threat to free speech.

The notion of end justified means is also part of the problem. Sure, showering someone with deference may get them on your side but it is for the wrong reasons. This is one of the major issues that shapes modern politics. Science is concerned with truth, regardless of politics.

Re:I am going to take this a step further

[Anonymous Coward]

Be forewarned, this message ain't gonna be Politically Correct

Or true.

You just described and gave an example of a society in which outward displays of homosexuality was negatively received by society.

Take China, for examples ... during the warring / turbulent years (since the late 1800's to the late 1960's) percentage of Chinese who identified as homosexuals were very low because of the illegality and implications of coming out

Now? With relative wealth and comfort, new generations that were born into kinder and gentler surroundings are experiencing an increase of the homosexual population who come out and openly identify and express themselves as homosexual because of the massive change in how society receives them

Re:I am going to take this a step further

[Time_Ngler]

You could say that about every genetic trait modern humans have. What about short sightedness, then? How about an allergy to peanuts? Are these survival traits, too?

Re:I am going to take this a step further

[r_a_trip]

It is kinda sad to live in the time of prosperity when I know in times of adversity, we would be more resillient, more strong and determined. The comfy emptiness of prosperity just leads to boys being born and then growing without any inherent purpose other than being a part of the economical system. And the girls can afford to reap the fruits of prosperity while the boys wander confused trying to find a purpose in their lives. This is just an opinion to explain the current situation with lonely guys often working in tech or academia. Don't get me wrong, the desperate search for their purpose may lead to new great inventions and discoveries, but also the necessity has lead to great inventions and maybe faster. Living in prosperity is rather dull.

Says someone living in (relative) prosperity... So you want life to be harsh, unforgiving and generally hostile to survival, just so your purpose can become to merely exist and get your next meal before your peers eat it.

Wrap your head around the horrible fact that life has no other inherent meaning than to merely exist. You can live an empty (read: no inherent meaning other than to exist) life and have it be a struggle to survive or you can live an empty life and add all the frills to it that make it meaningful to you.

Either way, life is indifferent to what you choose.

Re:I am going to take this a step further

[Time_Ngler]

Why not make them asexual then? Gay relationships can have self-destructive crazy, too.

Gay tendency could be a side effect of other gene that is beneficial (or a combination thereof and/or along with a nurture component). For example, you wouldn't argue that blind spots are a survival trait, would you? And yet eyes without them would be considerably better.

Study explains nothing

[Dan East]

This study "explains" nothing.

Such a pattern would provide an evolutionary explanation for such culling. It “might be adaptive,” Lee says.

An "evolutionary explanation" isn't an explanation. WHY do more male fetuses die than female during stressful situations? What is the actual mechanism causing this to happen? The answer to that is an "explanation". Further, given the relatively long time frames involved in human reproduction, how would this trait have evolved to cover such a large percentage of the population when it is only needed during stressful situations?

Maybe males require more resources from the mother as a fetus, or maybe the difference in hormones is the tipping point that causes more male fetuses to die in these situations. But just because it appears to be beneficial in some way in the vast scheme of things does not mean that it exists because it is beneficial evolutionary or was selected in some way.

Saying "we found it is beneficial for less male fetuses to be born during stressful situations" does not mean "less males are born because it is beneficial during stressful situations".

Re:I am going to take this a step further

[ShanghaiBill]

Since you didn't provide any sources, is this just your hypothesis or an actually observed pattern?

Even if he provided sources, they don't prove his hypothesis. Peaceful, prosperous societies may have more homosexuals, or they just may be more tolerant so more homosexuals come out of the closet and are move visible. The latter seems more likely to me.

Re:I am going to take this a step further

[Anonymous Coward]

Meanwhile, remember to thank Alan Turing for his contributions to the computer you used to post that.