On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality
Mathematicians have always been attracted to the field of genetics. The mathematical aspects of research on homosexuality are especially interesting. Certain studies show that male homosexuality may have a genetic component that is correlated with female fertility. Other studies show the existence o...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Springer US
2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131866.2 |
| _version_ | 1811074159041576960 |
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| author | Khovanova, Tanya |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics Khovanova, Tanya |
| author_sort | Khovanova, Tanya |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Mathematicians have always been attracted to the field of genetics. The mathematical aspects of research on homosexuality are especially interesting. Certain studies show that male homosexuality may have a genetic component that is correlated with female fertility. Other studies show the existence of the fraternal birth order effect, that is, the correlation of homosexuality with the number of older brothers. This article is devoted to the mathematical aspects of how these two phenomena are interconnected. In particular, we show that the fraternal birth order effect implies a correlation between homosexuality and maternal fecundity. Vice versa, we show that the correlation between homosexuality and female fecundity implies the increase in the probability of the younger brothers being homosexual. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:44:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/131866.2 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T09:44:22Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| publisher | Springer US |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/131866.22021-12-17T16:46:21Z On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality Khovanova, Tanya Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics Mathematicians have always been attracted to the field of genetics. The mathematical aspects of research on homosexuality are especially interesting. Certain studies show that male homosexuality may have a genetic component that is correlated with female fertility. Other studies show the existence of the fraternal birth order effect, that is, the correlation of homosexuality with the number of older brothers. This article is devoted to the mathematical aspects of how these two phenomena are interconnected. In particular, we show that the fraternal birth order effect implies a correlation between homosexuality and maternal fecundity. Vice versa, we show that the correlation between homosexuality and female fecundity implies the increase in the probability of the younger brothers being homosexual. 2021-12-17T16:46:20Z 2021-09-20T17:30:43Z 2021-12-17T16:46:20Z 2019-11 2020-09-24T21:34:40Z Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131866.2 en https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01573-1 Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature application/octet-stream Springer US Springer US |
| spellingShingle | Khovanova, Tanya On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality |
| title | On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality |
| title_full | On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality |
| title_fullStr | On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality |
| title_full_unstemmed | On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality |
| title_short | On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality |
| title_sort | on the mathematics of the fraternal birth order effect and the genetics of homosexuality |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/131866.2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT khovanovatanya onthemathematicsofthefraternalbirthordereffectandthegeneticsofhomosexuality |