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mixing blue and pink smoke, symbolic of the muddled boundaries between sexes
Opinion: Biological Science Rejects the Sex Binary, and That’s Good for Humanity
Evidence from various sciences reveals that there are diverse ways of being male, female, or both. An anthropologist argues that embracing these truths will help humans flourish.
Opinion: Biological Science Rejects the Sex Binary, and That’s Good for Humanity
Opinion: Biological Science Rejects the Sex Binary, and That’s Good for Humanity

Evidence from various sciences reveals that there are diverse ways of being male, female, or both. An anthropologist argues that embracing these truths will help humans flourish.

Evidence from various sciences reveals that there are diverse ways of being male, female, or both. An anthropologist argues that embracing these truths will help humans flourish.

sex chromosome

Woman massaging pain in her left wrist.
The Extra X: How the Sex Chromosome Affects Autoimmunity Risk
Kamal Nahas, PhD | Sep 19, 2023 | 4 min read
What underlies the uneven burden of autoimmunity between the sexes has remained a mystery. Now, scientists found clues by turning to a key player on the X chromosome.
The illustration shows floating chromosomes with a Y-shaped chromosome in the foreground.
Closing the Gaps in the Human Genome: Why Y Was the Final Hurdle
Kamal Nahas, PhD | Aug 28, 2023 | 4 min read
For two decades, scientists struggled to fully sequence the Y chromosome. Finally, researchers have mapped its full length thanks to recent advances in sequencing technology.
Blue 3D illustration of X-shaped chromosomes
X Chromosome Silenced in Some Cancers in Males
Natalia Mesa, PhD | Nov 11, 2022 | 3 min read
A study finds that XIST, the gene that shuts down one X chromosome in people who have two, is linked to cancer in males. 
A single neutrophil white blood cell in the artery with red blood cells floating around it
Missing Y Chromosome in Mouse Blood Causes Heart Dysfunction
Patience Asanga | Jul 16, 2022 | 3 min read
An analysis of human data from the UK biobank also finds an association between Y chromosome loss and heart disease in men.
babies
Sex Ratios at Birth Linked to Pollutants
Chloe Tenn | Dec 3, 2021 | 2 min read
A large, long-term study across the US and Sweden finds potential correlations between specific pollutants and the proportions of male and female babies born.
How a Pea Aphid Decides to Make Wings or Not
Viviane Callier | Jun 1, 2020 | 2 min read
Wing development in females is environmentally controlled, but in males, an insertion on the sex chromosome appears to dictate whether the insects grow wings, according to a study.
Infographic: How Some X-Chromosome Genes Escape Inactivation
Amber Dance | Mar 1, 2020 | 2 min read
About one-quarter of the hundreds of genes on the inactivated X chromosome in XX cells manage to escape that silencing, at least some of the time.
Genes that Escape Silencing on the Second X Chromosome May Drive Disease
Amber Dance | Mar 1, 2020 | 10+ min read
When X-linked genes evade silencing on the “inactive” chromosome in XX cells, some protect women from diseases such as cancer, but others seem to promote conditions such as autoimmunity.
Switch Master: A Profile of Barbara Meyer
Diana Kwon | Jan 13, 2020 | 9 min read
Working with bacteriophages and nematodes, the University of California, Berkeley, molecular biologist uncovered a role for genetic switches in early development.
Unbalanced Chromosomal Inheritance More Common than Thought
Jef Akst | Oct 11, 2019 | 2 min read
A genomic analysis from 23andMe suggests that people inherit two copies of a chromosome from only one parent nearly twice as often as researchers had realized.
sperm mouse sex selection ivf in vitro fertilization x y chromosome
Researchers Develop New Method for Sexing Sperm
Katarina Zimmer | Aug 13, 2019 | 4 min read
Scientists found they could sort mouse sperm prior to IVF by treating semen with a drug that selectively slows down X-bearing cells.
cancer more common in men
Why Is Cancer More Common in Men Than in Women?
Jef Akst | Apr 1, 2019 | 4 min read
The molecular processes that lead males to be more susceptible to the disease are only beginning to come to light.
X Marks the Sex-Skewed Spot
Rina Shaikh-Lesko | Mar 7, 2016 | 2 min read
Alterations in epigenetic markers on the X chromosome may be why males outnumber females among murine offspring bred through in vitro fertilization.
Lizard Swaps Mode of Deciding Its Sex
Kerry Grens | Jul 1, 2015 | 3 min read
Sex assignment in bearded dragons can flip from one based on chromosomes to one driven by temperature, researchers report.
Lost Y Chromosome Genes Found on Autosomes
Anna Azvolinsky | May 27, 2015 | 3 min read
Mammalian Y chromosome genes with important functions are transferred to autosomal chromosomes more often than previously thought, a study shows.
Doris Bachtrog: Sex Chromosome Wrangler
Molly Sharlach | Jan 1, 2015 | 3 min read
Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley. Age: 39
Focus on Sex
Molly Sharlach | Dec 28, 2014 | 3 min read
In 2014, new research findings and guidelines brought increased attention to biological differences between males and females.
Vanishing Y Chromosomes
Molly Sharlach | Dec 4, 2014 | 3 min read
A new study reveals an association between smoking and rates of Y chromosome loss in blood cells, which may explain elevated cancer risk among male smokers.
Female Pigs May Sense Sex of Sperm
Anna Azvolinsky | May 21, 2014 | 3 min read
The oviducts of pigs exhibit different gene expression profiles depending on their exposure to sperm with either an X or a Y chromosome, a study shows. 
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