The Odd Chromosomes
The Odd Chromosomes
This chapter describes the discovery of the sex chromosomes by Nettie Stevens and Edmund Wilson and shows how scientists struggled to understand the significance of these “odd chromosomes” to sex. The leading early theories of chromosomal determination of sex assumed a model of sex determination that was labile, open to many influences, and nondeterminate. As this chapter shows, early cytogeneticists sought to fit the newly found chromosomes into preexisting theories of sex determination and resisted any notion that “maleness” and “femaleness” were discrete genetic characters represented by the X and Y chromosomes.
Keywords: Nettie M. Stevens, Edmund B. Wilson, Metabolic theory of sex, Sex determination, Cytogenetics
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