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May. 22nd, 2002 08:15 amjust fyi
i videotape a genetics class every other day, and a few days ago, they said that the idea that male pattern baldness is an "x-linked" gene ie: passed from the mother's side, hence the old saying "if your mother's father was balding, then you will be too." anyhow, that old belief has been found to be incorrect. the trait is controlled by as many as five genes interacting, and it has what they called "variable penetration, and varied expressivity." meaning that you may never go bald, or you may go a little bald later, etc. relate it to skin color if you need an analogy.
the genetics teacher brought this up because she said that five years ago, the idea of the x-linked baldness gene was a given. no genetecist would even debate it. some skeptic (probably a bald skeptic whose mother's father has a full head of hair.) went and shook up the whole academic genetics universe, just cause he or she wasn't happy with it. she used it as an example of the idea that in genetics, it is very hard to say that one thing is "the way it is" and it is very easy to be wrong.
i videotape a genetics class every other day, and a few days ago, they said that the idea that male pattern baldness is an "x-linked" gene ie: passed from the mother's side, hence the old saying "if your mother's father was balding, then you will be too." anyhow, that old belief has been found to be incorrect. the trait is controlled by as many as five genes interacting, and it has what they called "variable penetration, and varied expressivity." meaning that you may never go bald, or you may go a little bald later, etc. relate it to skin color if you need an analogy.
the genetics teacher brought this up because she said that five years ago, the idea of the x-linked baldness gene was a given. no genetecist would even debate it. some skeptic (probably a bald skeptic whose mother's father has a full head of hair.) went and shook up the whole academic genetics universe, just cause he or she wasn't happy with it. she used it as an example of the idea that in genetics, it is very hard to say that one thing is "the way it is" and it is very easy to be wrong.
