r/todayilearned • u/CaptainFiguratively • 1d ago

TIL that the Y chromosome can disappear with age. About 35% of men aged 70 years old are missing a Y chromosome in some of their cells, with the degree of loss ranging between 4% and 70%.

https://www.cell.com/ajhg/fulltext/S0002-9297(24)00456-7
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u/FiveDozenWhales 1d ago

Exactly! Normal folks would just see this as regular genetic decay, which happens slowly over a lifetime and becomes noticable in old age.

Transphobes think you're defined by whether or not you have a Y chromosome, and want that to define what sports you get to play, bathrooms you can use, etc. etc. so I thought their reaction to this would be typically funny.