September 2, 2005--Whither Men?

As you may have noticed, I have some interest in evolution and the on-going controversies that swirl about it. Thus I was intrigued by a piece in yesterday’s NY Times about chimpanzee genes (“In Chimpanzee DNA, Signs of Y Chromosome’s Evolution.”). While evolutionary biologists struggle to resist the counter pressure of both creationists and intelligent design advocates, they also press on with their work. For example, scientists recently reported that they successfully decoded the chimpanzee genome. This is significant because, if you are inclined to believe, chimps are our closest relatives. (And I always thought my closest relative was my cousin Chuck!) Therefore, the researchers assert, by comparing chimp DNA with ours we may be able to learn more about that illusive subject—human nature.

So as I read deeper into the article I hoped I would be able to learn more about why human nature makes us so aggressive, greedy, violent, and if you will even evil. Issues we probably need to grapple with and contain if this species (homo sapiens) is to continue to survive.

But wouldn’t you know it, the first aspects of human nature our scientists turned to is, yes, sex! Male sex to boot.

In spite of their obsession with sex, I did force myself to read on and was a little surprised to learn “that humans have led sexually virtuous lives for the last six million years,” in comparison to chimps that is. (Though I wondered if the DNA decoders had watched the MTV Video Awards show earlier this week.)

But I was less surprised when I got to that part of the report about the Y, or male sex chromosome. Six million years ago both X (female) and Y chromosomes carried the same number of genes—1,000 or so. However, over the millennia the Y chromosome has been losing some of its male qualities and thus “may lapse into terminal decay, taking men with it” [my italics].

Aha, perhaps by 2075 there will be no more males. And who said the Intelligent Designers were crazy!