The X in sex : how the X chromosome controls our lives / David Bainbridge.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Bainbridge, David.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

X chromosome.

Genetic sex determination.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (216 p.)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 2003.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

A tiny scrap of genetic information determines our sex; it also consigns many of us to a life of disease, directs or disrupts the everyday working of our bodies, and forces women to live as genetic chimeras. The culprit--so necessary and yet the source of such upheaval--is the X chromosome, and this is its story. An enlightening and entertaining tour of the cultural and natural history of this intriguing member of the genome, The X in Sex traces the journey toward our current understanding of the nature of X. From its chance discovery in the nineteenth century to the promise and implications of ongoing research, David Bainbridge shows how the X evolved and where it and its counterpart Y are going, how it helps assign developing human babies their sex--and maybe even their sexuality--and how it affects our lives in infinitely complex and subtle ways. X offers cures for disease, challenges our cultural, ethical, and scientific assumptions about maleness and femaleness, and has even reshaped our views of human evolution and human nature.

Contents:

Frontmatter

CONTENTS

PROLOGUE

1 . MAKING A DIFFERENCE

2 . THE DUKE OF KENT’S TESTICLES

3 . THE DOUBLE LIFE OF WOMEN

FURTHER READING

GLOSSARY

INDEX

Notes:

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Includes bibliographical references (p. [183]-192) and index.

ISBN:

9780674020412

0674020413

OCLC:

451007081