In the 1970s the biologist Ronald Ericsson came up with a way to separate sperm carrying the male-producing Y chromosome from those carrying the X. He sent the two kinds of sperm swimming down a glass tube through ever-thicker albumin barriers. The sperm with the X chromosome had a larger head and a longer tail, and so, he figured, they would get bogged down in the viscous liquid. The sperm with the Y chromosome were leaner and faster and could swim down to the bottom of the tube more efficiently. Ericsson had grown up on a ranch in South Dakota, where he’d developed an Old West, cowboy swagger. The process, he said, was like ‘cutting out cattle at the gate.
Sunday, June 13th, 2010
The End of Men
Stephan: Like the emerging White Minority, the growing gender equality or even preference reversal in our society is causing joy in some, and fear in others. It is another manifestation of the Great Schism that is sweeping through America. It is also worth noting that because women live longer than men, and inherit their husband's wealth, women control far more of the invested wealth in this country than men do.
Thanks to Sam Crespi.
