Tuesday, November 18, 2014

Loss of Y chromosome can explain shorter life expectancy in men.

A recent study at Uppsala University attempted to find any correlation from loss of the Y chromosome to a shorter life span and mortality from cancer. Seeing that it is apparent in many studies that men are more likely than women to die from almost any cancer or disease it would follow that any such correlation would most likely have a genetic link to it. Alterations of the DNA our body cells occur throughout our life which tends to lead to cancerous cell accumulating. The study analyzed the DNA of blood samples belonging to 1600 men. They found that most of the genetic alteration in men came from a loss of the Y chromosome in a portion of the men's white blood cells. The cells actually were missing a whole chromosome. The group of men were studied for several years and the study found that there was indeed a correlation between the loss of the y chromosome and the likely hood of developing cancer. In fact the men who had lost their chromosome had lower chances of survival irrespective of their cause of death. While the Y chromosome is only present in men, so far the only genes in the Y chromosome have been associated with sex determination and sperm production. Because the Y chromosome has also been linked to have a role in tumor suppression this maybe the most likely reason as to why men get cancers more often than women.


This article makes me wonder how mammals developed the xx and xy chromosomal gender linkage over millions of years. The mere fact that ones gender is dictated by a single chromosome just shows the toils of evolution. In some birds it is known that the males have the same chromsomes zz while the females have zw. Gender is a cruel joke evolution plays on genes.

Main article: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140428121205.htm

Related article: http://www.bbc.com/news/health-29703455

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