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We could use it to restore our own genome. The Y chromosome may become extinct in as little as 5Myr[1], such a record may allow our descendants to refresh it. W
by zamalek 2y ago
We could use it to restore our own genome. The Y chromosome may become extinct in as little as 5Myr[1], such a record may allow our descendants to refresh it. We'd be avoiding a pretty common scifi trope (although the trope usually arises due to cloning).
[1]: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58997-2 https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-58997-2
- ahazred8ta 2y agoUrban legend. Almost all of the gene loss happened 200 million years ago in early mammals. In the past 40 million years, our ancestors lost one Y-chromosome gene one single time about 20 million years ago. In the 7 million years since we separated from chimps, there have not been any genes lost from the Y. Note: a similar shrinking pattern is seen in birds, where females have a small W chromosome and males have two large Z's.