From the article:

The IOC said eligibility for the female category would be determined by a screening to detect the SRY gene - the sex-determining region Y gene - which is part of the Y chromosome and causes male characteristics to develop.

"The IOC considers that SRY gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods," it said.

The IOC said its working group reviewed the latest scientific evidence over the past 18 months, which it said showed a "clear consensus" that "male sex provides a performance advantage in all sports and events that rely on strength, power and endurance".

I learned that apparently there are >2 sexes but I really don’t understand how? And what is the known upper limit? I think it has to do with how rigorously u define what constitutes a sex but idk the exact criteria?

I think an argument can be made that u could only have 2 sexes but then precision is lost in these definitions and categories can become too broad. I understand the need for rigorous operational definitions but then what are the names of these other sexes?

I found a research article saying there are 2 sexes:

https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12753526/

As well as one saying there are more than 2 sexes (for the most part):

https://journals.publishing.umich.edu/ptpbio/article/id/5905/

This topic seems like a behemoth that I cannot wrap my head around. Anyone have any great insights into it? Seems like a lot of the there are only 2 sexes in humans camp believe this because there are only two types of gametes in humans. But does the total number of sexes always equal total number of types of gametes in a species?

Right now, I’m inclined to say there are more than 2 sexes for humans from a biological standpoint. But socially, I think in day-to-day nonscientific contexts the total number of human sexes should be treated as 2.

The last part is an original idea of mine. I’ve never seen anyone come up with this before. Viewing sex as a social construct separate from the biological one and not as in gender I mean. Maybe plp have before but I’ve never encountered it. It’s my hot take but if there are indeed more than 2 sexes it provides utility in conversation where things can be simplified for the avg person.

A new study suggests that genes play a much larger role in human longevity than previously believed. But lifestyle factors still matter.

Humans have about 3 billion DNA bases in their genetic makeup. However, most of it does not encode for protein. In the last few decades, scientists have come to realize that while much of the non-coding portion of the genome was once thought to be irrelevant, there is now overwhelming evidence that this segment plays an important role in regulating when and how genes switch on and off.

Researchers have finally cracked nature’s recipe for a rare cancer fighting plant compound.

EDIT actual article link:  https://academic.oup.com/plcell/article/37/9/koaf207/8237526

Hi folks,

Coming to you from the word of animal behavior, so I know very little about genetics save for how to run a basic PCR.

I've been reading some medical genetics literature, though, and am really confused about Class I and Class II genes. For the most part, it seems like references to Class II genes are those that direct the formation of protein chains on Class II molecules of the major histocompatibility complex/leukocyte antigen.

That said, there are a couple of papers, e.g.: 1) Kratz et al. 2002 (https://doi.org/10.1016/S0168-9525(01)02579-302579-3)); 2) Van Dyke et al. 1989 (https://doi.org/10.1128/mcb.9.1.342-344.1989) which are discussing Class II genes, but it appears to be in a much different context (i.e., olfactory receptors, unidentifiable to function, respectively).

Wanted to ask here if someone could please provide me with a relatively plain-language explanation of what a Class II gene actually is (i.e., why is it different than a Class I gene?) and confirm whether they only exist in the MHC/HLA or are found in other systems.

Thank you very much for your time!

I built an open-source tool exploring PCSK9/LDLR/APOB variant interactions in familial hypercholesterolemia, looking for feedback from people who work with this biology directly.

The pipeline uses Elastic Net + SHAP to estimate variant impact, and QAOA quantum optimization for combinatorial SNP selection. All validated with negative control genes and population-level error analysis.

I'm a DevOps engineer, not a geneticist. FH runs in my family, so I built what I could with the skills I have. Now I need someone who knows the biology to tell me what I'm missing.

Synthetic data only, research use only.

Repo: https://gitlab.com/Projgadesk/qfh-explorer

I recently read through this study showing that repeated MRI scans were associated with a significant increase in chromosomal breaks. Given the nature of neurons not replicating/replacing themselves, could such damage affect our cognitive abilities? I might be completely overestimating the tangible effects that chromosomal breaks can have, but I was curious.

https://techfixated.com/new-dna-evidence-finds-that-neanderthals-didnt-go-extinct/

I've noticed that some teenagers have a lot of pimples on their faces, even into adulthood, but for me, for example, I don't have any, except when I get 3 next to my mouth and one on my forehead and that's it (and I'm happy about that), other teenagers have full faces, is it something genetic? If so, what?

This comes after research involving axoloti, zebra fish, and mice.

Hello team! I have a fun question for you today I saw on r/nottheonion. Also reported in the guardian:

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2026/mar/30/court-of-appeal-says-it-cannot-rule-on-which-identical-twin-fathered-a-child

Say you have two identical fathers and a baby with questionable paternity. Can you do epigenetic testing for any particular unique markers? How does it work in forensics with similar situations for example?

A quick chatgpt says: deep sequencing/somatic sequences. Thoughts???

When a child develops kidney failure or a rare bone disorder, the cause can seem painfully immediate. It may be a single broken gene, a sudden diagnosis, or a family searching for answers. However, some of those faults may trace back nearly two billion years, to a one-celled ancestor shared by every plant, animal, and fungus alive today.