Are men on the road to extinction?

[tandfman]

According to this article, it may be only a matter of time. The Y chromosome is dying and we may run out of them within the next 5 million years.

"But the good news is that certain rodent species - the mole voles of Eastern Europe and the country rats of Japan - have no Y chromosome and no SRY gene.

"Yet there are still plenty of healthy male mole voles and country rats running around. Some other gene must have taken over the job and we'd like to know what that gene is."

Whew! They have a bit of time to solve that one.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandte ... ction.html

[TrackDaddy]

I better hurry and get a few things done.

[jhc68]

Does this mean we should make a point to be more MANLY while we still can? As I get older I think I can feel those damn Y chromosomes leaking out my pores...

[Jack Slocombe]

What will happen to all those unused urinals?

[Marlow]

With cloning, do we even need females? Can't we just grow people in petri dishes? And why mess with random recombinations of genes, when we can engineer designer genes? And aren't people too inefficient anyway? Shouldn't machines be the dominant life form? Oh wait, that's The Matrix and Terminator plots!

[Daisy]

FYI, losing the Y chromosome is not synonymous with losing males (as the quoted text indicates)

Shouldn't machines be the dominant life form?

Cells are machines.

[Marlow]

Cells are machines.

Good call! Man is an exceedingly marvelous machine, but still, too danged inefficient.

[jhc68]

FYI, losing the Y chromosome is not synonymous with losing males (as the quoted text indicates)

That's easy to say for someone who calls himself Daisy!!! I've always been suspicious of you! :wink:

Me, I'm all for guarding all my Y chromosomes, I just have to figure out how :evil:

[Daisy]

Cells are machines.

Good call! Man is an exceedingly marvelous machine, but still, too danged inefficient.

The engine of the cells is about 40% efficient at converting fuel (sugar) to work. That's pretty efficient. But you're right that the work could be utlized better

[jhc68]

Do Cylons have Y chromosomes?

[Daisy]

That's easy to say for someone who calls himself Daisy!!! I've always been suspicious of you! :wink:

it's a long story.

Me, I'm all for guarding all my Y chromosomes, I just have to figure out how :evil:

Get placed on the endangered species list and then adopted by a zoo that specialises in genetic conservation. They'll probably get you mating with as many different females as possible (presumably all human).

[gh]

Do Cylons have Y chromosomes?

Yes, you can find it right between the C chromosome and the l chromosome.