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Science
Jenny Graves, Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Vice Chancellor's Fellow, La Trobe University

Men are slowly losing their Y chromosome, but a new sex gene discovery in spiny rats brings hope for humanity

X and Y chromosome. Nathan Devery/Shutterstock

The sex of human and other mammal babies is decided by a male-determining gene on the Y chromosome. But the human Y chromosome is degenerating and may disappear in a few million years, leading to our extinction unless we evolve a new sex gene.

The good news is two branches of rodents have already lost their Y chromosome and have lived to tell the tale.

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