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Subject:
Biological gender fetal differences
Category: Science > Biology Asked by: daryl-ga List Price: $30.00 |
Posted:
19 Apr 2002 09:35 PDT
Expires: 26 Apr 2002 09:35 PDT Question ID: 2073 |
What is the biological difference in a growing male vs. female fetus and what have doctors/psychiatrist's found about boys vs. girls personality traits that are not learned but gene based? |
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Subject:
Re: Biological gender fetal differences
Answered By: dscotton-ga on 19 Apr 2002 13:01 PDT |
Although a fetuss genetic sex is determined at conception by either the presence of a Y chromosome or a second X chromosome, physiological differences do not begin to emerge until the formation of sex organs after 6-7 weeks. The testes of a male fetus generate two kinds of hormones which influence the development of the reproductive system: Mullerian Inhibiting Substance, which prevents the formation of female Mullerian ducts (the uterus and fallopian tubes), and androgens which stimulate the growth of the male Wolffian ducts. Here is a description of the process of sex differentiation in fetuses: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/pediatricendocrinology/intersex/sd2.html If youre interested in the behavioral differences between males and females, you may want to read Brain Sex, a book by Anne Moir, Ph.D. and David Jessel, which talks about the differences between males and females, and specifically the effects of different hormones on the development of the human brain. Although the behavioral differences caused by different brain development are not entirely clear, it is clear that there are differences in the central nervous system between males and females, which are caused by the presence of hormones during development. Aggressiveness is thought to be one behavioral trait influenced by gender differences in the development of the brain. Here are some web sites that discuss the differences in the brain and development of the central nervous system due to gender: Development of the Cerebral Cortex: XV. Sexual Differentiation of the Central Nervous System by Roger A. Gorski, Ph.D http://www.med.yale.edu/chldstdy/plomdevelop/development/March99.html Male-Female Differences BrainPlace.com http://www.brainplace.com/bp/malefemaledif/default.asp I hope this answers your question! |
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Subject:
Re: Biological gender fetal differences
From: aidan-ga on 14 Jun 2002 23:04 PDT |
A somewhat tangetial, but interesting and oft overlooked fact: The XY model of sex-determination is mammal specific. A number of other models are used by other animals (and plants, but I know little about them). Birds use a "WZ" model, which is a mirror image of the mammalian XY model. Females birds have one W chromosome and one Z, and male birds are ZZ. In crocodiles (and a number of other reptiles), the temperature at which the eggs are incubated determines their sex: the lower the incubation tempature, the more females there are, the higher, the more males. Fish and non-vertebrates can be even less like us. Some fish start their life as females and later become males. Many invertebrates are both male and female. A seperation of genders into different individuals roughly correlates with complexity. Most complex animals, like vertebrates, cephalopods (squid and octopods), and insects, have seperated the genders, a trait called dioecy. Many simple animals like clams and flatworms are monoecious (both genders in the same indiviual). Among the group of insects which includes ants and bees, fertilized eggs become females, while males hatch from unfertilized eggs. This is important to the evolution of their social structure (which evolved seperately, but almost identically in bees and ants). There, not really what was being asked, but interesting, I think. |
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