Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Survival of Fetus is due to Environmental Factors and is Gender Specific
A study was just published (links here and here). Basically, when times are lean, females are preferred over males. When there is plenty of food, then more boys are born. This possibly has to do with the physiology of the embryo. If there isn't enough food, the male embryo can't handle the stress and dies shortly after conception. Since people are eating leaner diets in the developed nations, this explains why more girls than boys are being born. It also fits with male infant mortality being slightly higher after birth. To some extent, it gets men off the hook for fathering baby girls. So, guys, if you really want a son, make sure your wife or girlfriend takes her vitamins and eats extremely well.
Labels: Sexual selection conception
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In the world's 2 most populous nations (China and India) pre birth gender detection advances are tipping the birth rate in favour of boys. Some cities in India are seeing only 800 girls born for every 1,000 boys. China has a similar bias against girls. Technology is conquering nature.
Pete,
Nature seeks balance. What we think of is bad isn't always so. I mean diseases kill people and if you are dying from that sort of disease, you might think that it's bad, but disease also limits populations to manageable numbers. Humanity is out of balance with Nature and if we don't balance the equation, Nature will do it for us and we might not like the method or the outcome.
John
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Nature seeks balance. What we think of is bad isn't always so. I mean diseases kill people and if you are dying from that sort of disease, you might think that it's bad, but disease also limits populations to manageable numbers. Humanity is out of balance with Nature and if we don't balance the equation, Nature will do it for us and we might not like the method or the outcome.
John
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