The X factor.Ever wonder why men suffer from color blindness color blindness, visual defect resulting in the inability to distinguish colors. About 8% of men and 0.5% of women experience some difficulty in color perception. , hemophilia, and other conditions women seem impervious to? Blame it on our sex-related genes, say scientists. Because women carry two copies of the X chromosome X chromosome One of the two sex chromosomes (the other is Y) that determine a person's gender. Normal males have both an X and a Y chromosome, and normal females have two X chromosomes. (men have one X and one Y), a defective or mutated gene on one X strand of DNA DNA: see nucleic acid. DNA or deoxyribonucleic acid One of two types of nucleic acid (the other is RNA); a complex organic compound found in all living cells and many viruses. It is the chemical substance of genes. is simply overridden by its healthier duplicate on the other. Men, unfortunately, don't have this double protection. But don't be too envious: It's your Y chromosome Y chromosome, n a sex chromosome that in humans and many other species is present only in the male, appearing singly in the normal male. It is carried as a sex determinant by one half of the male gametes. None of the female gametes contain a Y chromosome. that gives you all your male features. |
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