May 2, 2004: Male Extinction - Bryan Sykes

Art Bell interviews Professor Bryan Sykes, one of the world's leading geneticists and professor of human genetics at the University of Oxford, about his book Adam's Curse. Sykes presents a startling thesis: the Y chromosome, the genetic element that makes men male, is deteriorating and will eventually cease to function in roughly 125,000 years, spelling the end of the male sex as we know it.

Sykes explains that the Y chromosome mutates faster than other chromosomes and lacks the ability to repair itself through DNA exchange. He notes that seven percent of men today are already sub-fertile, with one to two percent of male infertility directly caused by new Y chromosome mutations. The conversation turns to sexual selection, with Sykes drawing parallels between the peacock's tail and human accumulation of wealth and power, using Genghis Khan's 16 million living male descendants as a striking example.

In a provocative chapter of the book, Sykes proposes that male homosexuality may result not from a single gene but from a genetic war between the Y chromosome and mitochondrial DNA. He cites data showing that mothers of gay men have significantly fewer brothers than sisters, suggesting mitochondria may actively work to suppress male offspring.