• Registered: 2005-03-07

Topic: Are Men Dying Off?

I listened to an Art Bell archived progam last night (from May 2, 2004, I believe).  The guest was Dr. Bryan Sykes from Oxford's genetics department who published a book last year called "Adam's Curse" that offers the idea that men might be becoming extinct. 

Apparently, over the past thousands of years, the Y chromosome has been degenerating, and only carries about one tenth of its original complement of genes.  The X chromosome has been thriving. 

I'm no genetic whiz, but the problem is due in part to the fact that the Y chromosome doesn't "recombine," and so is prone to mutations.  Sykes described the Y chromosome as a "genetic mess." 

I looked around the net and not all researchers share Sykes' grim outlook for the Y chromosome, but they seem to agree that the Y chromosome is indeed degenerating and looks like it will continue to degenerate. 

I also found that there are mammals who reproduce without Y chromosomes.  Both sexes have X chromosomes, but there are certain genes activated in some that cause maleness.

I also found that the same is being found to be true with humans.  It isn't the Y chromosome per se that determines maleness, but a set of genes on it that activate other genes that begin the male differentiation.  Though, that gene (I believe) resides on the Y chromosome.  However, there have been males born double X with just a tiny Y--that critical part of the Y that caused male sexual characteristics.

My schema of genetics is being redefined.  What if the Y chromosome did disappear, but "sexes" continued to be?  Is what we know as the Y chromosome actually the result of ancient genetic tampering?  What if men and women were originally XX, but one of the X chromosomes was mutilated/mutated to produce, say, ultraviolent men?

You can't change a tiger's stripes,
but you can avoid its teeth.
  • Registered: 2004-04-01

Re: Are Men Dying Off?

Maybe genetic change is happening and its not just due to chemicals in the environment - the newly introduced synthetic chemicals and such.

It could be that this planet is entering a different part of the galaxy and a "stepping up" is occurring on an energetic level which is also causing genetic change.

  • Registered: 2004-03-28

Re: Are Men Dying Off?

Well, considering there's about 3,000,000,000 men on Earth I don't think they'll be going extinct any time soon.

But, the idea hinted at by some channelings that women and men will eventually merge into one gender is intriguing.

  • Registered: 2005-03-07

Re: Are Men Dying Off?

The timeline Dr. Sykes gives is that men will become extinct within the next 5,000 generations or roughly 125,000 years.

You can't change a tiger's stripes,
but you can avoid its teeth.
  • Registered: 2004-04-21

Re: Are Men Dying Off?

I believe our current male/female configuration is due to genetic changes made that led to "the fall".

  • Registered: 2005-03-07

Re: Are Men Dying Off?

One fascinating tidbit I found in the web research that I did was that the present Y chromosome, compared to older samples has far fewer genes on it.  Older samples of the Y chromosome had about a thousand genes contained in it (equal in number to the X chromosome) and now, apparently, the Y chromosome has only less than an hundred genes. 

Here's an article:

http://discoverychannel.co.in/newscient … le02.shtml

Discovery Channel.co.in wrote:

Appearing on the scene millions of years ago, the Y ruled over a fine kingdom of 1500 genes, but that kingdom has been crumbling ever since. Today, the Y is but a foolish old man, a mere shadow of his former self, clinging desperately to the dwindling 40 or so genes that remain. And some researchers predict that in five million years even those will disappear, and the Y will falter and be extinguished. When that happens, humanity will lose its male half, and must either go extinct or scramble to evolve a new way of creating males.

What did those (now gone) nine-hundred or so genes correspond to?

You can't change a tiger's stripes,
but you can avoid its teeth.
  • Registered: 2005-03-07

Re: Are Men Dying Off?

I acutally have that book, "Hagakure," but it's mostly unread. 

...There are men who seem to be more in-tune to yin/feminine energy--it could be partially genetic.  What if one of the genetic manipulations/mutations/past trends of the human genome was to polarize in a way that caused extreme yang in some and extreme yin in others? 

The gene trend wouldn't necessarily have to follow sex lines either.

Male and female energies, I believe, are in each of us.  They're probably balanced by the solar plexus chakra.  At times, I have intentionally worked with my male and female energies--raising or decreasing one through intention when it felt appropriate. 

I more or less archetypically see "male" energy as warrior energy, and "female" energy as priestess/wise-woman energy.  When I "use" it, I feel that energy/archetype building up in me, swirling in my center, alive in me.  If I were female I might archetypically see "male" energy as (Amazon-like) warrior energy, and "female" energy as priest/wise-man energy.  Of course, though, one doesn't have to envision/conceptualize the "opposite" m/f energy as the opposite sex in archtype work.  The energies, as I see it, don't belong to the sexes necessarily.  So-called male energy doesn't belong to a male body with male sexual characteristics; however, vibrationally it may jive better with the male body.  And, of course, vice versa.  Like yin and yang, male and female energy are--to me--soft/hard, active/passive, etc. etc.

You can't change a tiger's stripes,
but you can avoid its teeth.
  • Registered: 2004-12-28

Re: Are Men Dying Off?

Male sperm counts are down 50% I heard compared to 50 yrs ago. Somethin like that.