The X in sexe: How the X chromosome controls our lives - Hardcover

This highly readable book tells the story of the X chromosome from Aristotle's musings on gender differences right through to a modern understanding of the genetics of the X chromosome. The author's engaging style makes modern genetics accessible both of the complete layperson and to those of us for whom preclinical genetics are a hazy memory...In a chapter entitled "The Duke of Kent's Testicles," Bainbridge describes the unfortunate spread of haemophilia (sic) through19th century European Royal families to illustrate the inheritance of sex-linked disorders. From a disastrous random mutation in a sperm in one of the Duke's testicles to the Russian Revolution, the history is irreverent but the genetic implications are well illustrated...This slim book is a good read, amusing yet informative and authoritative.--Alex Connan "Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Heath Care "

A tiny scrap of genetic information determines our sex; it also consigns many of us to a life of disease, directs or disrupts the everyday working of our bodies, and forces women to live as genetic chimeras. The culprit - so necessary and yet the source of such upheaval - is the X chromosome, and this is its story. An enlightening and entertaining tour of the cultural and natural history of this intriguing member of the genome, "The X in Sex" traces the journey toward our current understanding of the nature of X. From its chance discovery in the 19th century to the promise and implications of ongoing research, David Bainbridge show how the X evolved and where it and its counterpart Y are going, how it helps assign developing human babies their sex - and maybe even their sexuality - and how it affects our lives in infinitely complex and subtle ways. X offers cures for disease, challenges our cultural, ethical and scientific assumptions about maleness and femaleness, and has even reshaped our views of human evolution and human nature.