Edit my paper

[Guest thesnow]

At red's discretion I have decided to post my essay outline for genetics & society class in supertrash.

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Feel free to critique. The outline is due Wednesday and the essay at the end of the month.

TOPIC: Pick any topic relating to genetics or evolution.

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Introduction

Male pattern balding, also known as Androgenetic alopecia, is the most common type of hair loss in men. The exact pattern and degree of hair loss varies individually, and depends upon hormones levels (specified later in this essay), environmental factors and genetic predisposition. Male pattern baldness is a sex-linked characteristic inheritable from mother to offspring and is more common in males than in females. A single hair normally has a lifespan of approximately two to six years – but the hair of a balding person may not be replaced after this time. After this initial period, the process becomes more unpredictable, but it often begins with a receding hairline. Alopecia then develops into a weakening/wearing of remaining hairs especially on the crown, and finally terminates with a horseshoe-shaped bald patch. These stages can be described as the antecedents to actual balding of a male or female. [% of males & females that experience this?]

Background to Sex-Linked Traits

In fundamental terms, males have an X and a Y chromosome and one copy of the genes on each, whereas females have two X chromosomes. Most humans usually have two copies of nearly all genes, one of which is from the mother, and the other from the father. The different variations of these genes are known as alleles – which are either dominant or recessive. A dominant variation would require only one copy of its gene in order for the trait to be expressed, whereas a recessive trait requires both gene copies to be of the same variation. In other words, phenotype (or the physical features of gene expression) is determined by certain genes which often come in two different types – each type serving as a variation of the physical trait. One variation may be dominant as only one copy may be needed for its expression whereas the other variation may require both copies/two because it is recessive. For example, the OCA2 gene determines eye color and comes in the forms brown and blue. The brown variation is the dominant eye color trait and the blue eye color is recessive as two copies are needed for a person to have blue eyes. However, balding is not quite so simple – it is not determined by any single gene.

Recessive Expression of “the balding geneâ€

With the genetic makeup of a male – who has only one copy of the X chromosome and only one copy of all the genes on this chromosome – only a single recessive gene on the X chromosome is required for the expression of the recessive trait. This is responsible for a higher frequency of baldness seen in men, as well as other recessive genetic diseases such as hemophilia and colour-blindness, are not expressed in women (http://www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=222). Although it is just on one chromosome, more than one allele will determine whether a person ends up balding or not.

[mlproject]

[macuser3of5]

tl,dr

10characters

[mobius]

where's all the good parts? You know drowning and swimming siblings. Beating twins to a pulp.

[mrip]

At red's discretion I have decided to post my essay outline for genetics & society class in supertrash.

-----------------

Feel free to critique. The outline is due Wednesday and the essay at the end of the month.

TOPIC: Pick any topic relating to genetics or evolution.

-----------------

Introduction

PENIS

Background to Sex-Linked Traits

PENIS

Recessive Expression of “the balding geneâ€

PENIS

[mellowbonsai]

superfuture: not your personal army

[soepom]

thesnow - the purpose of the outline is to inform the reader succinctly what you intend to communicate/achieve with your paper. all i've read so far is an explanation of inheritable male pattern balding which is well and good, but what you probably need to do, is to state what it is about male pattern balding that you intend to address.

since it is a genetics and society module, where is the sociological interest in your topic?

social discrimination based on biological factors? are bald men stigmatised because balding is deemed physically unattractive? how is such stigmatisation effected? (eg. men who are uncomfortable with their hair loss and therefore wear wigs/ toupees etc. inherently indicates that they perceive it to be an undesirable state, or interviews/statistics that women reject balding men - contrast it to subcultures where heads are deliberately shaven and considered "cool" eg skinheads. what is the social value in a full head of hair?).

also, since hair loss is determined genetically rather than lifestyle/habits, why is it that it suffers discrimination rather than evoke sympathy like other genetic dysfunctions such as...(i dunno, name some examples here). compare it with acne, why do people tend to dismiss acne as a passing phase in puberty rather than seek medical treatment for it if indeed it is a medical condition? similarly, is medical help sought for male-patterned hair loss as commonly as medical help is sought for other ailments? why or why not?

there are those who believe that balding is also affected by testosterone levels, and argue that men who lose hair earlier tend to have higher libidos and are therefore perhaps more attractive because of the (purported) prowess in the bedroom (please ascertain facts and find credible sources you can cite, i'm just throwing ideas off the top of my inebriated head).

okay that's it for now. the wines are getting to me.

[soepom]

just to add, since the gene is sex-linked, compare the normative attitudes towards male balding vs female balding. eg.would a man in his 40s with a receding hairline be still more likely to land a date than a woman with same physical criteria ceteris paribus? how does genetic predisposition affect social norms?

*crashed*

[itchya]

soepom is uber-bright AND steezy...me in lub...can you be me private tutor?

[stuntastic]

The end...

[Guest]

YOU HAVE OFFENDED MUHAMMAD

http://boortz.com/mp3/archive/countdown.swf

[Guest thesnow]

good read soepom thanks..

i knew i needed at least some kind of thesis because i dont really give any points with support and i should probably outline a few, i just have no idea what about balding I want to discuss exactly?

boom