Your job can dictate what sex children you have....LSE report

[lemonice]

Read it here

What do you think?

[NotQuiteCockney]

Primates are weirder - if status is inherited from mother to daughter, high-ranking primates tend to have more girls. If rank can go from mother to son, they tend to have more boys. (Many primates have one gender normally leaving the troop on maturity, to avoid incest.)

[happymerryberries]

Tamum, isn't it true that testosterone production drives the production of the male phenotype (as opposed to male genotype)?

[colditz]

i am a care assistant and had a boy.

I must be heartless then

[tamum]

Yes, hmb, that's what exactly what I meant by saying that there would be males who were XX and vice-versa.

[happymerryberries]

Phew, glad you said that, as I have been winding up all the lads I teach by telling them that the female phenotype is the default setting!

[tamum]

Quite right too

[tamum]

Oh, and that's right about female red deer, but there's no evidence that it occurs at conception, but there is evidence that it occurs by selective fetal loss (i.e. miscarriage). It also depends on population density, the whole phenomenon is lost at higher densities. Not a simple picture, certainly.

[happymerryberries]

I think that rabbits can selectivly re-absorb developing foetuses if the warren is over crowded or there is insufficient food.

[tamum]

Yes, and there's something similar in reptiles. It all depends on population factors in other species though as far as I'm aware. I guess they can't model the effect of professions though...

[happymerryberries]

I can think of some they could start on!!!

[happymerryberries]

BTW, Tamum, did you see the excellent article by Richard Dawkins in yesterdays Times on Evolution vs Creationism? A great read.

[Jimjams]

my dad was a submariner and reckoned most submariners had girls...... Ropey Y sperm fried by the nuclear reactor?

tamum- have you ever had a conversation with LN abut killer sperm? he was very into it all a few years ago....

[tamum]

Ni, I didn't, but I have it here so I will go and look, thanks. I have just spent all day at dd's dress rehearsal for her ballet show, so have a bit of reading to catch up on....

[tamum]

No, Jimjams, I can't say I've had that pleasure, in spite of sharing a hotel room with him for two weeks. He talked only of slugs IIRC (many of which were in the room with us in plastic cups)

[happymerryberries]

God, Tamum, you know how to have a good time!

When ds was flying fast jets there was a theory doing the rounds that this favoured the production of daughters. Two explanations were given, pulling G and excess solar radiation from flying high.

Was never convinced myself.

[tamum]

I know, glamour doesn't begin to cover it really....

I can completely relate to there being multiple factors that will influence sperm production and/or behaviour, I just didn't think that report was very well thought-through (not too sure about solar radiation mind you, I think you are right to be suspicious!)

[happymerryberries]

Thankfully dh and I have now finished reproducing! If they ever prove a link between it and cancer we will be quids in with dh's medical history.

Oh and did I tell you that the brother than dh matches for MHC markes has ankelosing spondulitis (sp?). Deep joy! I swear that dh is just falling apart an organ at a time. If he was white goods I'd have tried to get my money back

[tamum]

Oh, what a worry. My prof when I was at uni had that (ankylosing spondilitis, incidentally ). He did pretty well, but it's not nice. Surely fate can't be that hard on your dh???

[happymerryberries]

20% of cases are linked, so I am hoping that bil is in the 80% camp. Hay ho, at least none of this stuff has killed him, resilient if prone to odd ailments. It is 11 years since his first cancer, 8 years since his pancreatits and to be fair the CLL is OK at the moment. They haveput him on 6 month check ups rather than 3 which I read as a good sign.

[Jimjams]

it is a good sign hmb...

ah yes slugs tamum- brought back jars of the things from Japan.

[Shazzler]

Crap.

I have worked in the same job and have one boy and one girl. What does that mean?

Not a lot.

[Chandra]

Well, I was a housewife before getting pregnant so how come I ended up with a son? though ... I'm convinced that home chores like cooking and vacuuming are men's work. Would that have had an effect on DS's sex?

[TwoAngels]

what a load of tosh!!! I used to load ships for a living, as did two of my best friends and all of us have had girls and more than one girl infact