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Envisioning a World Without Men
ABC News ^ | 04/28/2008 | Nick Watt

Posted on 04/29/2008 8:04:52 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007

Imagine a world without men: Lauren Bacall but no Bogie, Hillary Clinton but no Bill, no Starsky or Hutch.

This isn't just an unlikely sci-fi scenario. This could be reality, according to Bryan Sykes, an eminent professor of genetics at Oxford University and author of "Adam's Curse: A Future Without Men."

"The Y chromosome is deteriorating and will, in my belief, disappear," Sykes told me. A world-renowned authority on genetic material, Sykes is called upon to investigate DNA evidence from crime scenes. His team of researchers is currently compiling a DNA family tree for our species.

Y Chromosome 'Fatally Flawed'

The Y chromosome is passed from father to son, it's what makes babies into boys. Basically the human template is a female: the Y chromosome kicks in a few weeks after conception and makes a boy. "Men are genetically modified women," explained Sykes. But unlike other chromosomes, the Y chromosome can't repair itself and will, says Sykes, disappear altogether in about 125,000 years.

"Every generation one percent of men will have a mutation which reduces their fertility by 10 percent," explained Sykes. Unlike most chromosomes, the Y does not travel through the generation in pairs, so can never repair itself from a mirror. Flaws are never repaired. "So if that goes on for generation after generation," Sykes argued, "eventually there are no functioning Y chromosomes left."

So no more men … sparsely populated sports bars, Ferrari would lose the lion's share of its business, and Hooters would probably go out of business.

It's a long time, 125,000 years. But we men have a far more immediate problem: sperm counts have fallen by an incredible 20 percent in the past 50 years. Stress? Alcohol? Environmental pollution? Who knows, but it's deeply concerning for those of us with a vested interest in the survival of the male.

Sykes has received hate mail. "To seem to be saying that men will become extinct, which is what I am saying," he mused. "I've had all kinds of messages from male groups saying, 'how can you betray your gender?'"

But would the absence of men make the world a better place? There would be far fewer wars without men on the planet, and the U.S. prison population would drop a colossal 97 percent. Road deaths in the U.S. would fall 70 percent. The Olympics would be half as long, which some people might view as a good thing.

Female-Only Reproduction

But surely, flawed Y chromosome or not, bad behavior or not, we are needed for procreation. Women can't have babies without us … right? I'm afraid, pretty soon they won't need our sperm, our chromosomes, our anything.

Until now, female-only reproduction has been limited to the plant and animal kingdom. So-called parthenogenesis, observed in the Cape Honey Bee, the Kimono Dragon and the hammerhead shark. In humans: confined to 1950s B movies. But Sykes says the technology for women to procreate without us is just around the corner.

"Within the next few years you will get two women having a child who is the biological child of both of them," Sykes said. "And entirely normal in every respect, but always female."

They've already done it with mice. Two mothers: the genetic material from one used to fertilize the egg of the other.

Two Mommies

The picture that Professor Sykes is painting is of a nuclear family without a man in sight. We went in search of what could be the template for the survival of our species. Laura and Natalie are a lovely couple who live in South London with their 13-month-old daughter Sanne. They agreed to let our all-male crew take a peek into their lives. Natalie actually gave birth to Sanne. The sperm came from an anonymous donor. She's raised by two moms.

"That the child will be well balanced with just two moms: Well, that's been proven back in the 40s," explained Natalie, who is also a child psychologist. "It's the care giving and the relationship between the care-giver and the infant that is the important part."

Laura, who right now is the bread winner, thinks any family will work as long as the child is, "getting the attention, the affection, the discipline." Looking at her very contented daughter, Laura told me, "She's obviously confident. She's very stable and secure. So I think so far we're doing okay."

Laura attended both the dads' and the moms' prenatal classes. I asked Natalie if having Laura as the partner was better than having a man? "I had actually a couple of mothers saying, 'Well, at least Laura's a woman she will understand better.'" Natalie told me. "And I said, 'no.' … She was exactly the same as the dads!"

Could Laura mount a defense? "I would like to think that I separate from the dads in that I'm not hooked on the ball games and things like that," she explained. And I must say, she was knee-deep in diaper changing and feeding time while we were hanging out.

So judging by this family, two moms aren't necessarily better, but can be just as good. But surely they must need a burly man for some things? I offered to put up some shelves, or change some light bulbs. "Actually, Laura is very, very handy," Natalie told me, trying not to hurt my feelings.

"My father's a mechanic, so there's nothing about a car that disturbs me," explained Laura. "I've also … I renovated a house. So, I'm really not concerned about that either."

Maybe our only hope as men is that women decide to keep us alive for their own amusement. For the pop music, perhaps, or maybe the dancing. We can be good at that.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Philosophy
KEYWORDS: dna; noman; playinggod; science
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"That the child will be well balanced with just two moms: Well, that's been proven back in the 40s," explained Natalie, who is also a child psychologist. "It's the care giving and the relationship between the care-giver and the infant that is the important part."

Try it worldwide and see how you fare.

1 posted on 04/29/2008 8:04:53 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007
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To: neverdem; wagglebee; little jeremiah; Gondring; pissant; PJ-Comix; Slings and Arrows; ...

“A world without men” ping.


2 posted on 04/29/2008 8:06:51 AM PDT by Ultra Sonic 007 (Look at all the candidates. Choose who you think is best. Choose wisely in 2008.)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

How are they going to decide who does the digging and who holds the flag at those construction sites?


3 posted on 04/29/2008 8:07:13 AM PDT by Radl
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

very little will get accomplished without people with stones.


4 posted on 04/29/2008 8:08:47 AM PDT by Vaquero (" an armed society is a polite society" Heinlein "MOLON LABE!" Leonidas of Sparta)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

The Feminazis still pondering about gendercide, I see.


5 posted on 04/29/2008 8:10:39 AM PDT by SolidWood
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

Cool. Toward the end just think of the benefits men can accrue under endangered minority status.


6 posted on 04/29/2008 8:10:43 AM PDT by newheart (The Truth? You can't handle the Truth. But He can handle you.)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

Imagine how the world will look when the trash is NEVER taken out, the lawn NEVER gets mowed, the oil is NEVER changed and shopping is considered a PROFESSION.


7 posted on 04/29/2008 8:12:12 AM PDT by wagglebee ("A political party cannot be all things to all people." -- Ronald Reagan, 3/1/75)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

This B.S. has been repeatedly debunked.

The Y chromosome (or iternations of it) have been around sicne the dawn of male/female sexes in animals.

The Y chromosome, also, unlike other chromosomes, has copies of itself on itself, and repairs itself.

A female analog is the mitochondria, which similarly is asexual it its DNA replication.

It’s just lesbian wishful thinking.


8 posted on 04/29/2008 8:12:12 AM PDT by MeanWestTexan (Kol Hakavod Mossad!)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007
I can imagine a world without other men...leaving me and my parthenogenetic buds...like, oh, I don't know, Milla Jovovich?


9 posted on 04/29/2008 8:12:27 AM PDT by snarks_when_bored
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

“Could Laura mount a defense? “

I mounted a fense once, or is that too much information.


10 posted on 04/29/2008 8:13:12 AM PDT by FastCoyote (I am intolerant of the intolerable.)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

“Every generation one percent of men will have a mutation which reduces their fertility by 10 percent,” explained Sykes. Unlike most chromosomes, the Y does not travel through the generation in pairs, so can never repair itself from a mirror. Flaws are never repaired. “So if that goes on for generation after generation,” Sykes argued, “eventually there are no functioning Y chromosomes left.”

Nonsense. Back-mutation is a form of repair and selection will naturally ensure that the fertile males who reproduce will pass on the functioning Y chromosome.


11 posted on 04/29/2008 8:13:19 AM PDT by Hacklehead (Crush the liberals, see them driven before you, and hear the lamentation of the hippies.)
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To: snarks_when_bored

What was the old commercial, “There is an unlimited supply of Bud Light, and we are the only men here, and we can never leave......We can live with that.”


12 posted on 04/29/2008 8:14:00 AM PDT by dfwgator (11+7+15=3 Heismans)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007
We went in search of what could be the template for the survival of our species

What they went in search of and what that might turn out to be are two different things. This is what the article avoids mentioning. Whether or not they went searching for something to support a gay and/or feminist agenda which they are now spinning as something which could be used as a backup plan in case they can't figure out how to save the male gender. Wait a minute, nowhere in the article did it mentioning saving men.....
13 posted on 04/29/2008 8:14:42 AM PDT by contemplator (Capitalism gets no Rock Concerts)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

So, that will just leave females and gays?


14 posted on 04/29/2008 8:15:00 AM PDT by Eurale
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To: dfwgator

(grin)


15 posted on 04/29/2008 8:15:20 AM PDT by snarks_when_bored
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

This thread is begging for pictures of women.


16 posted on 04/29/2008 8:17:57 AM PDT by DungeonMaster (WELL I SPEAK LOUD, AND I CARRY A BIGGER STICK, AND I USE IT TOO!)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

Any credibility I had given this scribbler went out the window with “Kimono Dragon”, and its editor needs a kick in the posterior as well.


17 posted on 04/29/2008 8:19:13 AM PDT by Don W (To write with a broken pencil is pointless.)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

“Men are genetically modified women”

No, man came first then woman, so that is backwards.


18 posted on 04/29/2008 8:19:13 AM PDT by Resolute Conservative
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To: Ultra Sonic 007; MeekOneGOP; Conspiracy Guy; DocRock; King Prout; Darksheare; OSHA; ...
Ha! Just wait until they need the "services" that only men can provide!

[Killing spiders, investigating strange noises in the night, parallel parking...what did you think I meant?]


19 posted on 04/29/2008 8:19:33 AM PDT by Slings and Arrows ("Code Pink should guard against creating stereotypes in the Mincing Community." --Titan Magroyne)
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To: Ultra Sonic 007

There was a movies about that........


20 posted on 04/29/2008 8:19:40 AM PDT by Red Badger ( We don't have science, but we do have consensus.......)
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