Human Males Evolve At a Faster Pace Than Females 454
Posted
by
CmdrTaco
from the can't-say-i'm-surprised dept.
from the can't-say-i'm-surprised dept.
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."
The cynical... (Score:2, Funny)
The cynical among us might say that we're finally catching up...
At last... (Score:5, Funny)
Al least some scientific data ;-)
Very seriously, I had a feminist girlfriend that wouldn't believe a child sex was defined by the spermatozoid. According to her the female genitals were as much responsible for the sex of the child.
I guess this article explains everything, she needs more evolution in order to understand those advanced concepts ;-))
That's because women keep changing their mind (Score:5, Funny)
...at what they are looking for in a mate.
Er... (Score:4, Funny)
You're correct, males do tend to generate more sperm than females...
-Matt
Re:Wow... (Score:3, Funny)
Thousands of years of wars fought because of skin tone or beliefs when really we could have done it over +/- 1/2 tsp.
Err, Trojan War? That one has to count
(no, not the pun damnit, the historical one... :) )
Re:Er... (Score:1, Funny)
I don't think that word means what you think it means.
Re:That's because women keep changing their mind (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Males are not a population (Score:3, Funny)
This might explain why people who voted for Bush twice in a row.
Re:The cynical... (Score:1, Funny)
Re:Ahh the womens groups... (Score:3, Funny)
Well, yeah, it says men are evolving faster... specifically, the Y-chromosome, and more specifically, it's related to sperm production.
Will they develop enhanced regeneration and adamantium claws?
In short, your junk is evolving. Not necessarily anything else. That MIGHT not be considered a complementary thing, depending on how you feel about your particular junk.
I feel pretty good about my "junk" but don't refer to them as junk. I am pretty sure they are holy...why my fiancee says oh god all the time...
Yet somehow... (Score:2, Funny)
Somehow, the right female can devolve me right back into being a monkey.
Re:Males are not a population (Score:5, Funny)
Possible reasons...
1) Sperm better resists the flood of estrogen chemicals and produces more babies.
2) Random chemicals in the environment are mutating the Y gene faster (so change is not coming from a benefit just a lot of random change)
3) Sperm lasts longer to evade birth control as long as possible.
Male sperm production is down by about 1/20th of what it used to be the last I read so there is a lot of pressure here.
4) Mutated sperm trying to develop laser beams to cut through condoms and diaphrams.
Re:Males are not a population (Score:2, Funny)
Sudo bring you a sandwich.
Re:Males are not a population (Score:5, Funny)
Thankfully I survived the life-threatening aspects of soldering back in my days of playing with electronics.
Re:That's because women keep changing their mind (Score:2, Funny)
Re:interesting factoid: (Score:1, Funny)
Having them on the outside makes them much easier to scratch.
Re:Males are not a population (Score:3, Funny)
It is well known that soldering leads to burned fingertips.
Those who do not learn to overcome this, eventually develop permanent callouses on their fingers.
The callouses on the fingertips lead to less sensitive fingers.
Less sensitive fingers mean that the male cannot feel the nuances of a woman's reaction when he is...errr...stimulating her with his fingers.
The woman being 'pleasured' decides she does not want a crappy, insensitive lover for a lifelong mate.
Said solderer goes childless throughout his life.
It is harder for those that solder to reproduce.
Of course, the upside to this ridiculous notion is that only men that learn how to solder well, without burning themselves, go on to reproduce. Over a significantly long time period, therefore, a human population should get better at soldering. Take that football players! Ha!
Re:Males are not a population (Score:4, Funny)
"Historically only 40% of all males were able to produce offspring"
And you write this on Slashdot, you insensitive clod?!
Re:Males are not a population (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Males are not a population (Score:2, Funny)
... if men tend to do more dangerous jobs (soldering, firefighting, etc...)
Yep. Slashdot
Re:Males are not a population (Score:3, Funny)
Humans are not monogamous. Humans did not evolve as a monogamous species. Pairing may be beneficial to raising children, but humans have a long history of sleeping around.
Olivia Judson, evolutionary biologist on reproductive organs:
http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/12/a-tyrannical-romance/ [nytimes.com]
In species where females usually mate with a single male during a breeding episode, penises tend to be small and uninteresting. In those where females mate with several males (whether by choice or by force), penises are typically larger, and come with fancy decorations such as grooves, nobbles, and spikes.
The nob on the human male penis was specifically designed to scoop out a rivals sperm and deposit seaman deep into the vagina at which point the penis becomes soft so as to not scoop out its own deposit.