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Women source of human intelligence :)
Women source of human intelligence
LONDON (Reuters) - Like it or not, the human race may owe its intelligence to women, especially our female ancestors who had the good sense to chose brains over brawn in selecting the best mates.
"Humanity should be grateful, men especially," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.
The theory that mothers are more likely to pass on their mental ability to their offspring than fathers and that intelligence genes are concentrated on the X chromosome is not new.
It was suggested by American scientist Robert Lehrke 30 years ago, but German scientists think they have narrowed down the search for the genes.
Horst Hameister, Ulrich Zechner and their colleagues at the University of Ulm in Germany first looked at genes linked to mental impairment and found that a preponderance of them is found on the X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and males have an X and a Y.
Some of the genes they pinpointed have been associated with the formation of nerve endings in the brain and memory and others are thought to contribute to intelligence in their natural form.
"Most geneticists believe the German team have uncovered a real effect -- an excess of X-linked genes responsible for intelligence, known in genetic parlance as the large X-chromosome effect," the magazine said.
"Many...are also convinced that this is the result of female choice," it added.
From Yahoo News - see we told you we knew it all
LONDON (Reuters) - Like it or not, the human race may owe its intelligence to women, especially our female ancestors who had the good sense to chose brains over brawn in selecting the best mates.
"Humanity should be grateful, men especially," New Scientist magazine said on Wednesday.
The theory that mothers are more likely to pass on their mental ability to their offspring than fathers and that intelligence genes are concentrated on the X chromosome is not new.
It was suggested by American scientist Robert Lehrke 30 years ago, but German scientists think they have narrowed down the search for the genes.
Horst Hameister, Ulrich Zechner and their colleagues at the University of Ulm in Germany first looked at genes linked to mental impairment and found that a preponderance of them is found on the X chromosome. Females have two X chromosomes and males have an X and a Y.
Some of the genes they pinpointed have been associated with the formation of nerve endings in the brain and memory and others are thought to contribute to intelligence in their natural form.
"Most geneticists believe the German team have uncovered a real effect -- an excess of X-linked genes responsible for intelligence, known in genetic parlance as the large X-chromosome effect," the magazine said.
"Many...are also convinced that this is the result of female choice," it added.
From Yahoo News - see we told you we knew it all
25 Replies and 3239 Views in Total. [ 1 2 ]
Ironically the selection pressure that women use these days seems to be wealth rather than intelligence, at least in the west's largest cities.
McGraw et al Ethology 108 p303
Showing that women may be the source intelligence, but that they're also shallow
They also proved the "Heredity of Intelligence" in mice a few years back, because they thought they'd look in a species with similar genetic makeup as the modern woman
McGraw et al Ethology 108 p303
Showing that women may be the source intelligence, but that they're also shallow
They also proved the "Heredity of Intelligence" in mice a few years back, because they thought they'd look in a species with similar genetic makeup as the modern woman
Posted: 17:21 May 23 2002 
Ditto
by misskittyfantastic
On behalf of my gender, WOOOOOHOOOOO
(Edited by Buffys Alter Ego 23/05/2002 18:12)
Posted: 18:11 May 23 2002 Apologies to my dad, but I have to say... thank goodness for that!
by Green_Amber
mothers are more likely to pass on their mental ability to their offspring than fathers
Posted: 21:12 May 23 2002 
thats pretty cool for women
Posted: 17:09 May 24 2002 
Just wondering..... What is intelligance.... Are you born intelligent? or are you born with the potential to be intelligent.... There is a big differance here. The never ending battle between nature and nerture (or however that is spelled.... Dutch dyslexic here )
Till a certain age a child still makes new nerve cells in the brain if they are not activated / used they will die eventually. Stimulating a child at young age can therefor mean that it has more potential to be intelligent even if they didn't have a whole lot of nerve cells to being with...
Also the buildup of the human brain is on certain basics differant for each side of the species..... You have intelligence in the sense of being able to solve a mathimatical problem or you have social intelligence... And also a lot of forms in between.....
Children tend to spend more time around their mum than around their dad because if you look in an overall picture dad still tend to be working at their jobs while mum's tend to watch the kids and work around the house (yes this is also work and it greatly under apperciated!) Therefor the kids pick up a lot of things from their mum and they are mostly relying on their mum to activate these brain cells
But the dad on the other hand will be doing the "fun" stuff with the kids that mum doesn't get to do because she till has to do the housework (classic example please don't kill me over this I know it can be done differantly (yes guys I don't want a bundle of "crazy women" kicking my head in over this post ))
Those triggered braincells by mum are then used by dad to "do something fun" with the kids. Like play games or whatever.
So in a sense the potential intelligance comes from the mother but if this by definition has to be genetic?????? Could also be cultural. The dad than uses his potential which has nothing to do with genetics just culture....
) Till a certain age a child still makes new nerve cells in the brain if they are not activated / used they will die eventually. Stimulating a child at young age can therefor mean that it has more potential to be intelligent even if they didn't have a whole lot of nerve cells to being with...
Also the buildup of the human brain is on certain basics differant for each side of the species..... You have intelligence in the sense of being able to solve a mathimatical problem or you have social intelligence... And also a lot of forms in between.....
Children tend to spend more time around their mum than around their dad because if you look in an overall picture dad still tend to be working at their jobs while mum's tend to watch the kids and work around the house (yes this is also work and it greatly under apperciated!) Therefor the kids pick up a lot of things from their mum and they are mostly relying on their mum to activate these brain cells
But the dad on the other hand will be doing the "fun" stuff with the kids that mum doesn't get to do because she till has to do the housework (classic example please don't kill me over this
I know it can be done differantly (yes guys I don't want a bundle of "crazy women" kicking my head in over this post ))Those triggered braincells by mum are then used by dad to "do something fun" with the kids. Like play games or whatever.
So in a sense the potential intelligance comes from the mother but if this by definition has to be genetic?????? Could also be cultural. The dad than uses his potential which has nothing to do with genetics just culture....
Posted: 11:08 May 28 2002
So glad to be female, but your telling us what we have known and been trying to tell men for years. Thay are always wrong!! women are the better species.
Posted: 00:35 May 30 2002 Species: a category of biological classification ranking immediately below the genus or subgenus, comprising related organisms or populations potentially capable of interbreeding, and being designated by a binomial that consists of the name of a genus followed by a Latin or latinized uncapitalized noun or adjective agreeing grammatically with the genus name.
by Mishelisa women are the better species.
I didn't know women could interbreed
Posted: 16:26 May 30 2002 
Though many women I know are intelligent and many blokes not so smart, I must say in general women are smarter, but men are geniuses. Out of all the female geniuses around, I can only think of Madam Curae. Out of the men, loads, loads more.
Personally, who cares? You can have A* women and men and you don't even deserve a U women and men. No one sex is better than the other, with the exception of men Who are better
Personally, who cares? You can have A* women and men and you don't even deserve a U women and men. No one sex is better than the other, with the exception of men
Who are better
Posted: 19:01 May 30 2002 Both men and women have equal potential, I'd say. The only reason that hardly any women have been great inventors etc is that society would not let them! They had to stay at home and have the children and were not considered worthy to have careers. Only in relatively modern times can they now work in research and so on.
by KieranFrost
Though many women I know are intelligent and many blokes not so smart, I must say in general women are smarter, but men are geniuses. Out of all the female geniuses around, I can only think of Madam Curae. Out of the men, loads, loads more.
Posted: 19:59 May 30 2002 There is a huge amount of documented research material available that illustrates the various attempts at this......Who cares if they can't,just keep making the videos!!
by Chambler
(quotes)
I didn't know women could interbreed
Posted: 21:28 Jun 08 2002
Yay Chambler!
At least someone is challanging the notion of intelligence as a physical and genetically controlled fact. I'd be very interested to know how these german scientists know that a certain gene defines intelligence, and not just through trend analysis, but through showing what that particular gene does, and how that physically determines intelligence. I can guarantee that they cannot do that.
And don't even get me started on the abstract nature of intelligence...
Anyone interested on reading more on the subject should check out Stephen Jay Gould's Mismeasure of Man.
At least someone is challanging the notion of intelligence as a physical and genetically controlled fact. I'd be very interested to know how these german scientists know that a certain gene defines intelligence, and not just through trend analysis, but through showing what that particular gene does, and how that physically determines intelligence. I can guarantee that they cannot do that.
And don't even get me started on the abstract nature of intelligence...
Anyone interested on reading more on the subject should check out Stephen Jay Gould's Mismeasure of Man.
Posted: 07:46 Jun 09 2002 
Actually... technically it's not that hard to do. You just take a large (say, 50, to make up for losses 200) fertilized eggs, knock out that specific gene, implant, watch the result...
by Jayjay
I'd be very interested to know how these german scientists know that a certain gene defines intelligence, and not just through trend analysis, but through showing what that particular gene does, and how that physically determines intelligence. I can guarantee that they cannot do that.
It's just that, even if you'd find a scientist insane enough to be willing to do that experiment, they'd never ever be allowed to do something like that.
Posted: 11:36 Jun 09 2002 [ 1 2 ]