Don't Mourn the Y Chromosome

The human Y chromosome may vanish one day, but perhaps that wouldn't be so bad.

By Laasya Samhita
Oct 2, 2014 12:00 AMMay 17, 2019 9:35 PM
y-chromosome.jpg?mw=900&mh=600
Sebastian Kaulitzki/Thinkstock

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Whether a mammal is a male or a female usually comes down to its set of sex chromosomes, either XX if you’re female, or XY, male. But studies have shown the human Y chromosome has degraded over time, losing up to 1,600 genes in about 200 million years, by some estimates. More strikingly, some mammals, such as the Japanese spiny rat, have shed their Y chromosomes altogether.

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