The hooligans of the world will be happy to hear the latest news: monogamy is not necessarily a natural human condition. At least this is the conclusion of a study conducted by Michael Hammer from the University of Arizona, published in the scientific journal "Genetics Nature".
Hamer and his colleagues examined the DNA of subjects, and found that compared to women, far fewer men passed on their genes to future generations. In other words, few men were able to impregnate many women, while overpowering their weaker counterparts.
The researchers base their conclusion on differences they found between the level of variation in mitochondrial DNA (DNA that is inherited only from the mother, and preserves information about women's biological history) and the variation in Y chromosome DNA (which exists only in males, and preserves information on the biological history of men).
They selected subjects from three geographically distant populations: the Kohij in South Africa, the Kalek from Mongolia, and the highlanders in Papua New Guinea.
Despite the geographical distances, the researchers discovered a common denominator for the subjects: their mitochondrial DNA sequences were very different from each other, while the DNA sequences from the Y chromosome were much more similar to each other, and the variation within them is low.
The most plausible explanation for this finding is that in each generation few men were able to pass on their Y chromosome to the next generation. Indeed, the calculations made in the study show that over the years, for every two women who bequeathed their genes, only one man bequeathed his genes.
These findings will not surprise the biologists. These can confirm for a long time the popular opinion, according to which men are more promiscuous than women. In most species, males want to be more permissive than females, and what holds them back is the fact that females are more picky. Also, females tend to develop a similar taste. This means that some males are selected by them more than other males, and therefore have more offspring.
One result did surprise the researchers: men's genes tended to reach farther geographically than women's. About 70% of the cultures of the modern world are based on patrilocality - living with the father's family - where a woman who marries moves from her home village to her husband's village. Until now it was common to think that this pattern would result in the woman's genes reaching farther than the man's. However, not only did fewer men reproduce than women, but they traveled farther to spread their seed.
It seems that the foreign man, tall and dark, who came from another country, has been considered a tempting proposition in the eyes of women for a very long time.
Economist
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