See other Science/Tech Articles
Title: Girls on top
Source:
TheEconomist
URL Source: http://www.economist.com/sciencetec ... =15125173&source=hptextfeature
Published: Dec 17, 2009
Author: staff
Post Date: 2009-12-27 14:00:47 by buckeroo
Keywords: None
Views: 290
Comments: 19
IT HAS been known for a while that stressful conditions such as famine result in more girls being born than happens in good times. The shift in the sex-ratio is tiny—around 1%—but in a large population that is still noticeable. A possible evolutionary explanation is that daughters are likely to mate and produce grandchildren regardless of condition, whereas weedy sons may fail in the struggle to have the chance to reproduce at all. In hard times, then, daughters are a safer evolutionary bet. Regardless of why the shift happens, though, it has long been argued that the moment when it happens is conception—or, more probably, implantation. A womb exposed to stress hormones, runs the hypothesis, is less likely to accommodate a male fetus. A recently published study, however, suggests this ain’t necessarily so. According to Ralph Catalano of the University of California, Berkeley, and his colleagues, writing in the American Journal of Human Biology, stress-induced sex selection can take place long after conception and implantation. Famines being rare in America these days, Dr Catalano and his colleagues used unemployment as their stressful event. They studied the birth records of the state of California from April 1995 to December 2007, and compared these with the number of new claims for unemployment insurance. Based on hints from earlier work, they looked specifically at unemployment claims that had wider social resonance than the firing of a few individuals—namely those in which an employer sacked 50 workers or more in one go. These mass lay-offs, it might be hypothesised, are more like natural catastrophes, such as famines, than isolated accidents that cause a few people to fall on hard times. The researchers discovered that mass lay-offs did, indeed, lead to fewer boys being born. Over the whole period 52.4% of births were of boys. In some months, though, that fell as low as 51.2%. Teasing out the statistics suggested that the stress of mass lay-offs probably caused these drops, but that the lay-offs in question could happen months after conception. Male fetuses were, in other words, being spontaneously aborted—presumably as a consequence of stress. That does not mean the original hypothesis is wrong. But it is not the whole truth. The ruthless winnowing of inappropriate offspring can, it seems, also take place well after a fetus has started developing. The next step, according to Dr Catalano, is to measure in pregnant women the levels of hormones known to predict spontaneous abortion, and to work out if these levels vary with stressful events.
Poster Comment: "qu'ils mangent de la brioche" circa 1792 by Marie Antoinette ... interpreted: "Let them eat cake."
(1 image)
Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
#1. To: All (#0)
I don't undertand why the earlier graphic is not viewable. But here is the idea: “Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.”
Medicine: Does War Breed Boys? "The only thing better than a Federal Reserve audit would be a Federal Reserve autopsy." ~ unknown
“Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.”
It has been know for a while that Buckeroo is insane. He post articles that have no evidence to back them up and he runs around mumbling about global warming while it get's colder every year. Ignore this clown and he will go away.
God is always good!
LOL! I have noticed him doing just that.
Liberty is not a means to a higher political end. It is itself the highest political end. ?
“Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.”
ur dum
Y?
“Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.”
Cuz of ur dum O.P. link
otay, do u hab any utter retort to add, subtract, multiply and/or divide utter dan i b dum?
“Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.”
um... no
and u call me "dum?"
“Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.”
yep
only 'cause y? u sez so?
“Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.”
Buck, I refuse to play this ridiculous game with you any longer. I will instead take the role of the bigger man and humbly resign from this insane discourse. As usual this conversation is rapidly going, well, nowhere.
You started it: "ur dum" ... or did you forget so quickly?
“Gold is the money of kings; silver is the money of gentlemen; barter is the money of peasants; but debt is the money of slaves.”
ur dum
Whereabouts do you live?
Hey buck, I was just kiddin around.
#2. To: buckeroo (#0)
In peacetime about 105 boys are born for every 100 girls. During and just after wars the ratio mysteriously increases to about 108 boys for every 100 girls. For the first time in World War II, this phenomenon has appeared in several warring nations of Europe, according to reports from Sweden last fortnight.
#3. To: farmfriend, wuditiz, Original_Intent (#1)
"be fruitful and multiply"
Refute that!
#4. To: buckeroo (#0)
#5. To: RickyJ (#4)
It has been know for a while that Buckeroo is insane. He post articles that have no evidence to back them up and he runs around mumbling about global warming while it get's colder every year. Ignore this clown and he will go away.
Lord Acton
#6. To: RickyJ (#4)
... post articles that have no evidence to back them up and he runs around mumbling about global warming while it get's colder every year.
#7. To: buckeroo (#3)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#8. To: wudidiz (#7)
#9. To: buckeroo (#8)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#10. To: wudidiz (#9)
#11. To: buckeroo (#10)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#12. To: wudidiz (#11)
#13. To: buckeroo (#12)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#14. To: wudidiz (#13)
#15. To: buckeroo (#14)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#16. To: wudidiz (#15)
#17. To: buckeroo (#16)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#18. To: buckeroo (#16)
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
#19. To: buckeroo (#16)
"ur dum"
"The trouble with people is not that they don't know but that they know so much that ain't so." ~ Josh Billings
Top • Page Up • Full Thread • Page Down • Bottom/Latest
