{"id":793,"date":"2014-12-08T09:40:45","date_gmt":"2014-12-08T09:40:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/?p=793"},"modified":"2014-12-07T23:45:38","modified_gmt":"2014-12-07T23:45:38","slug":"review-global-skills-award-lecture-are-our-genetic-male-bits-disappearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/biosciences\/2014\/12\/08\/review-global-skills-award-lecture-are-our-genetic-male-bits-disappearing\/","title":{"rendered":"Review – Global Skills Award Lecture: Are our (genetic) male bits disappearing?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Professor Darren Griffin was the guest speaker at a lecture for postgraduate students enrolled on the Global Skills Award programme.<\/p>\n

The lecture, entitled \u2018Are our (genetic) male bits disappearing?\u2019 was well received thanks to the fascinating subject and Darren\u2019s friendly and humorous delivery. Even those from a non-biosciences discipline were interested in the ideas that were discussed and felt that they took a lot of information away with them.<\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Griffin made this into a very interesting topic of investigation. It was clearly structured and I could understand what he was talking about, even though I didn\u2019t have any knowledge of this area prior to the lecture\u201d \u2013 Psychology student<\/em><\/p>\n

Darren initially looked at male and female traits, posing the questions, \u201cWhy do we need men?\u201d and \u201cWhy do we have sex?\u201d before giving a basic biology lesson on genomes and genetic exchange.<\/p>\n

The main focus of the seminar however was on the (male) human Y chromosome and how it came to \u2018shrink\u2019.<\/p>\n

Darren explained that a string of mutations caused by the absence of a \u2018mutual support mechanism\u2019 led to a structural differentiation between the X and Y chromosomes. In mammals, this involved a loss of DNA from the Y chromosome, the accumulation of \u2018junk\u2019 DNA and a reduction in genetic exchange.<\/p>\n

This process continued until there was very little similarity between X and Y and only a small region of genetic exchange.<\/p>\n

He then went on to discuss the \u2018debate\u2019 in the genome evolution community about whether or not the mammalian (including the human) Y chromosome would eventually disappear and when. He looked at two opposing theories by Jenny Marshall-Graves and Jennifer Hughes, given at the 18th<\/sup> International Chromosome Conference in Manchester on 31 August, 2011.<\/p>\n

Darren closed the lecture by saying that the human Y chromosome has indeed shrunk considerably; but it has also evolved some clever mechanisms to \u2018put the brakes on\u2019.<\/p>\n

Darren has always enjoyed giving the global skills lecture. He said: \u201cIt\u2019s an important opportunity to get across work that we do in Biosciences in an accessible way to students with a range of backgrounds. \u00a0The programme is an exciting one and the audience is always receptive.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

What do you think? Did you attend the lecture last Monday? What did you make of the topic of the lecture?<\/p>\n

Here are some more quotes from other postgraduate students that attended:<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was able to simplify really complex material without losing the importance and the essence of it. It was a great lecture\u201d \u2013 Law student<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cExcellent. This lecture was one of the best I have seen in my academic career, so far. Funny, entertaining and interesting. An evening well spent!\u201d \u2013 Business student<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cProfessor Darren Griffin executed the lecture with extreme confidence, humour and in-depth knowledge\u201d \u2013 Biosciences student<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Professor<\/a>
Professor Darren Griffin<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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Darren Griffin is a professor of genetics. You can read more about him and his research at\u00a0http:\/\/www.kent.ac.uk\/bio\/profiles\/staff\/griffin.html<\/a>.<\/p>\n