Runner, I am not surprised Mrs. Runner does as she is told .

Hasbeen , so you are only anti-female on this forum then?

Rhian, I am sorry to have a go at your beliefs. I am glad you obviously find comfort in the words of the bible, but not all believers are as non-judgemental as you seem.

Is Mise, I haven't believed in fairy tales since my teens, after the nuns finally realized they couldn't force that rubbish into my brain any more.
I just started asking too many questions and thinking for myself...

on the beach

I'm guessing you are woman. If not, then the post doesn't directly apply to you, but to all those women who love to revel in their anti-feminist pride.

What has always fascinated me about anti-feminist women is that they are even more hostile - in their ever so superior way - to feminism than a lot of men are. Yet I also notice that feminists rarely ever return the hostility - perhaps out of misguided loyalty to all women (a loyalty, by the way, that I do not share).

Anti-feminist women routinely assume a Miss Jean Brodie-esque contemptuous dismissal of feminists as misguided children who hopelessly misunderstand the real (benevolently male-guided) world and need the firm guidance and wisdom that only traditional, submissive femininity can provide.

They are so wrapped up in the rapturous peace and joy of women knowing their place, they make Uncle Tom look like Spartacus.

The anti-feminist woman loves to go in savagely fighting, guns blazing, for the embattled integrity of the poor put-upon male who has been emasculated and forced into permanent moral confusion by the forces of feminist harpiedom. To the anti-feminist woman, men are such fragile creatures, so needing to be wrapped up in a woman's loving skirts.

To the anti-feminist woman, there is no such thing as gender power - just male and female planets beatifically orbiting one another.

Good luck to you dear. However, if you are not a woman, then dismiss this post. I'm sure you will anyway.

Jardine (and in the interests of informed opinion more generally):

“A child receives half of his or her genes from each parent.” Michael Cummings, ‘Human Heredity: Principles and Issues’ (Cengage Learning, 2014), 103.

In sexual reproduction, “all offspring contain one half of the genetic material from each parent.” A. Jamie Cuticchia, ‘Genetics: A Handbook for Lawyers’ (American Bar Association, 2009), 3.

“Sexual reproduction” is defined as “reproduction involving a male and a female, with each contributing half of the genetic makeup of the offspring.” Lynn Van Gorp, ‘Genetics’ (Compass Print Books, 2009), 35.

“The union of the sperm and the egg, each carrying one half of the genetic makeup, unites the genetic information to code for an offspring.” Cynthia Silkworth et al., eds. ‘Individualised Healthcare Plans’ (Sunrise River Press, 2005), 159.

“Half of the genetic makeup of a fertilized egg comes from each parent.” James Monroe and Reed Wikander, ‘The Changing Earth’ (Cengage Learning, 2012), 454.

Dear willies,

Jardine K. Jardine is right. All those quotes you cite ignore the fact that the cytoplasm contains genetic material and is entirely the contribution of the mother. The father only contributes half of the genetic material composing the nucleus. However, the cytoplasm also contains genetic material.

Many thanks, davidf, for a post that is comprehensible to the lay reader.

Would you be kind enough to post one or two recent scientific sources, including page numbers, that state your point?

And would you please explain why, in your opinion, the bulk of current scientific sources make misleading statements about the matter?

Dear willies,

I am traveling so my books are at home. However, Gray's Anatomy which medical students study describes the contents of the cell. The cytoplasm contains the mitochondria which contain genetic material. It is a common error to neglect the genetic contribution of the cytoplasm. All the genetic material that the sperm carries is transferred to the nucleus. The genetic material in the nucleus comes in equal parts from mother and father. Genetic studies of heredity from the male line concentrate on the Y chromosome which all males have. Genetic studies of the female line concentrate on the mitochondria found in the cytoplasm. Whether we are male or female our cytoplasm comes from our mothers. The sperm contributes nothing to the cytoplasm. The statements you cite are simply wrong. You did not cite scientific descriptions or papers. You cited books which made a common error. The genetic material in the mitochondria is small compared to that in the nucleus. Nevertheless, it exists.