OBSERVATIONS ON THE SYMPOSIUM AND PANEL DISCUSSION

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
It has been approximately 30 years since I was associated with any researches having to do with sex control. I'm sure the good judgment that I exercised in removing myself from that area of work has qualified me for the position that I hold here this afternoon—to make observations on the symposium. Our symposium has considered the prospects for control of the sex ratio at birth. It considered first the question of what might sex control mean in the animal world. In answer, it was pointed out that certain genetic advantages for improvement of animals would accrue. Both the question and the answer carry overtones of social implications when extended to man. Shouldn't we know how to control and to use wisely an anticipated technique like this before we have it at hand? If we are to succeed in control of the sex ratio at birth, what we appear to be seeking is either a component of the sperm phenotype which shows a high genetic correlation with the sex of its progeny, or some physical aspect of the sperm phenotype which is indicative of its genetic content with regard to sex determination. The alternative forms of this trait must react differentially to some aspect of the environment at some time between meiosis and amphimixis; the reaction must affect either the odds of the cell's participation in fertilization or the odds of the zygote's survival. We are as a consequence seeking factors in the environment or technical procedures which will

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: