Are Men More Evolved Than Women?

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Chimpanzee and human Y chromosomes are remarkably divergent in structure and gene content

The human Y chromosome began to evolve from an autosome hundreds of millions of years ago, acquiring a sex-determining function and undergoing a series of inversions that suppressed crossing over with the X chromosome. Little is known about the recent evolution of the Y chromosome because only the human Y chromosome has been fully sequenced. Prevailing theories hold that Y chromosomes evolve by gene loss, the pace of which slows over time, eventually leading to a paucity of genes, and stasis.

These theories have been buttressed by partial sequence data from newly emergent plant and animal Y chromosomes, but they have not been tested in older, highly evolved Y chromosomes such as that of humans. Here we finished sequencing of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome (MSY) in our closest living relative, the chimpanzee, achieving levels of accuracy and completion previously reached for the human MSY. By comparing the MSYs of the two species we show that they differ radically in sequence structure and gene content, indicating rapid evolution during the past six million years.

The chimpanzee MSY contains twice as many massive palindromes as the human MSY, yet it has lost large fractions of the MSY protein-coding genes and gene families present in the last common ancestor. We suggest that the extraordinary divergence of the chimpanzee and human MSYs was driven by four synergistic factors: the prominent role of the MSY in sperm production, 'genetic hitchhiking' effects in the absence of meiotic crossing over, frequent ectopic recombination within the MSY, and species differences in mating behaviour. Although genetic decay may be the principal dynamic in the evolution of newly emergent Y chromosomes, wholesale renovation is the paramount theme in the continuing evolution of chimpanzee, human and perhaps other older MSYs.

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[websnarf]

I was under the impression that the Y also just accumulates more mutations because its less functional -- it just needs to select the sex during development. That's why the Y is also shorter because some mutations knocked out parts of it, but it doesn't seem to matter.

[NeroJoe]

This helps explain why sexual dimorphism always shows the most noticeable phenotype differences in males.

[TheRationalizer]

It might be more accurate to say "Men are more mutated", a lot of women would probably agree with that statement :)

[WarThemedRevolution]

@OTSTRETFORD Well, according to this the process of transferring the Y chromosome goes on uninhibited. In natural selection, the better gene of the pair is usually what gets passed on. This eliminates bad chromosomes. But there is no competition for the Y chromosome so the bad ones keep going...which would suggest to me that us guys are more likely to have bad genes.

[LucianoSubiraaOrvalho]

That is true, evolution does not mean a species is getting better just more different.

[a]

I wouldn't even use the term "evolving faster", I would use "changing faster".
Using the word "evolve" seems often to be used to describe something that's changing for the better. "change" is more neutral.

[tastybrain]

So the y chromosome changes "unchecked". Why? How? And why is there a difference between the y chromosomes in chimps and humans? The video didn't address this but I'd really like to know.

[I_Am_SciCurious]

If being pretty, having soft skin, silky hair, a hot rack, a soft touch, and the ability to coordinate colors and do five things at once are signs that I'm "less evolved" then that's something I can easily live with.

[FatRakoon]

@Gesmehod
This is true,
But, more specifically, all of us started life as a female and then some of us get a switch to change us into male.
So, indirectly all men are transgendered women.
LOL

[darklighteryphon]

Yes it is sad, As a wise man once said "everyone ends up forgotten or the truth about them is lost as time goes on."

[joshphamster]

good luck bringing this up in a conversation

[graviton]

the day that we achieve the technology to design our children is the starting point of women's mass distinction, sadly :(

[darklighteryphon]

Tell that to all the feminist extremists out there.

I will not deny that there has been some women who have done great things, but the sad thing is alot of people try to say only women have done anything great.

They try to deny that there have been great men in the world, do you know of Mahatma Gandhi and want he did? how about prophet muhammad of the muslim faith?

The truth is people are so concerned with keeping women happy that they will let society die to do so.

[darklighteryphon]

I have heard of Male fertility Gods in ancient times So fertility not just female but male aswell, Females would like you to believe that it's only a female thing so you would treat like goddesses.

I, myself see them as humans and nothing more.

It takes more than giving birth to be great, remember all the men who died for their countries? they did great things and so they are great.

It's funny that men live shorter lives than women but do so much more with them.

So I am proud to be male.

[RePrEsSiOn]

this is not about men and women then at all this is about evolution in general its absurd to say men are more evoluted than women the processes just seem to be different men this does not mean men are somehow futher in the future than women this is completely not true men just are different than women in there nature so evoution in men takes on a different character

[Phoboskomboa]

I wouldn't be surprised to find out that the Y-chromosome mutates more...

I was already typing that when they got to it in the video =D.

[jpingage]

The eight people who 'disliked' this video clearly didn't bother to watch it.

[Highlyskeptical]

Interesting!

If the Y chromosome is changing faster, due to its lack of a complementary Y, does that mean men are changing faster as well?

Characteristics in men may be selected for at a faster rate, providing a mutation to the Y is favorable in some way for reproduction or survival, might things that benefit either be tracked statistically? Like voice timber over generations or muscle mass (guessing)? I guess we don't have data and there's exceptions of course but...

Interesting!

[TerribleInThOriginal]

(part2) on that note, have you been in a history classroom lately? It's about men. Yes, Gandi was awesome, awesome enough to free India and inspire MLK Jr. His arch enemy Winston (and Winston's relative, Jack) was also pretty cool. Now, have you heard about Sophie Scholl or Maya Angelou?

We should totes stop worrying about citizens feeling overlooked. That worked well for France and England. And Tsarist Russia. And everywhere.

[correlationimpliescausatio]

Oh damn I flipped my script at the beginning. The male is non-default. The female is default. There. The rest is right.
It seems male is a less complex offshoot of the female.