@fryrsquared: There's a curiously strange phenomenon when you look at the data for the ratio of baby boys to baby girls. For a start, slightly more boys are born than girls. (A biologist told me this was evolution's correction for the fact that little boys are more likely to get into accidents). But also there are peaks in quite notable places. This pattern is not unique to Britain. Around the world, at the end of a war, there is a spike in the number of baby boys that are born. There are subtle differences between X and Y sperm. The theory is that the conditions which vary over her cycle, like temperature and acidity and hormone levels, favour some sperm over others at different times. If earlier in the cycle favours Y sperm, then more sex is more likely to catch that window. And if you're already pregnant (with a boy) then you can't get pregnant later in the cycle when conditions favour X sperm. #puzzle #math #data #babiesoftiktok

Hannah Fry

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Region: GB

Saturday 13 January 2024 14:00:19 GMT