• Question: Why is the population of female high than that of men yet the ratio genetically is 1:1?

    Asked by Evard to Dorcas, Jay Oty, Mel, Priscilla on 1 Oct 2014.
    • Photo: Dorcas Kamuya

      Dorcas Kamuya answered on 1 Oct 2014:

      Hi Evard,
      The ratio actually varies across age-groups and countries/regions, but overall currently stands at 101 men to 100 woman (so it is not so great). However, more boys than girls are born (ratio of 107 boys to 100 girls), but most of the boys die early, and in some some regions, the life expectancy of women is higher (while in other regions, it is not).
      Dorcas

Comments

  • Photo: Evard

    Evard commented on :

    can you pliz express it genetically? please…………………………………………………………………

  • Photo: Dorcas

    Dorcas commented on :

    Hi Evard,
    Whether a child is born a boy or girl is determined by the father. A father has X and Y chromosomes, while a woman has only XX chromosomes. At anytime there is a 50 percent chance that the child being born will be either a girls or a boy, that is there are 4 possible combinations, XX, XX, XY and XY. The xx are the girls, the XY are the boys. However, it has been shown that the XY chromosomes swim faster and that is why the ratio of boys born is slightly higher than that of girls.

    Remember that YX Are chromosomes. Chromosomes are packed in bundles to form genes. Genes are the coded information for making everything the body needs. A gene is a distinct portion of the DNA. DNA is a cell molecule that carries our genetic information. Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes – a total of 46. Of these, one pair is the sex chromosome which determines whether you are a man or a woman, the other 22 pairs determine the make up of your body.

    So the sex of a child is determined by the man, because he is the one with both the X and Y chromosome.
    Dorcas