The Incredible X-chromosome - Essay Example

The main idea of the article is to highlight the superiority of the X chromosome in males over females. The article develops the assertion that passing of the genes from parents tends to favor the male sex. This is based on that female children get X chromosomes from both their mothers and fathers. On the other hand, male children get the Y chromosome from their father and the X from their mother. This combination creates a superior gene. Consequently, fathers tend to pass on stronger X genes to their daughter and a dominant Y gene to their sons (Badcock 1).

The article develops the idea that the strong genes in males make them smarter than females. They obtain an undiluted X chromosome from their female parent and a dominant Y chromosome from the male parent. In addition, the author further develops the assertion that the strong genes in males also make them stronger in creating similar genes in identical twins. Badcock asserts that female identical twins have more differences than male identical twins (1). The article also asserts that males are more likely to suffer from autism than females. This is based on that autism is X-linked, and males contain only one X-chromosome. This makes them vulnerable to autism.

The article develops the conclusion that the X-chromosome is the dominant gene in the human body. For this reason, every aspect of the body that is X-linked comes from the parent with the most X-genes, the mother. For instance, intelligence.

Article Summary

The article by Badcock tries to explain the evolution of the study into the relevance and significance of the X chromosome in human psychology. The author develops the assertion that the differences between males and females develop from the differences in the adaption of the X and Y chromosomes from parents (Badcock 1).

The article describes the process of carrying out the chromosomes from parents to their offspring. Male children get X chromosomes from their mothers and Y chromosome from their fathers. In males, the X chromosomes are dominated by the Y chromosomes. However, in females, their genes contain X chromosomes both from their mother and father. The X gene from their mother is, however, diluted. They get a strong and undiluted X gene from their fathers. For this reason, daughters are more related and similar to their fathers than mothers (Badcock 1). This is influenced by their strong X-gene.

The X gene is also responsible for psychological differences between males and females. The X gene in males is stronger than that in females due to the strong genes from their father and the Y chromosome factor. In females, the strong X gene from the male parent is diluted by the weak X gene from the female parent. For this reason, males tend to be more intelligent than females. However, this property creates a disadvantage for them when it comes to autism. The double X chromosome in females enables them to cope with autism. This is based on that autism affects the X chromosome. The one X gene in males makes them vulnerable to autism.