Sexual Relationships
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Is sex of the child determined by its fraternal grandfather?

This is to answer a true or false question. The note that I have from my teacher on this is:
"The male sperm determines the sex of the future zygote.
The male donates either the X or Y chromosome.
The female's egg contains only XX chromosomes."
Would it be true or false, then, to state that the sex of the child is determined by its fraternal grandfather? The way I see it is:
True because sex is always determined by the male parent, and this goes back to the previous generation (s)
False because in the notes my professor has, it states that the sex of the child is determined by the father (not by any past generation)
0 1

Superb Opinion

  • It's technically a yes but.

    How can you get a Y chromosome without actually have a Y chromosome? So you actually need a grandfather to produce the father 1st before the father can have a child. If for some reasons, the grandfather can not produce a proper Y chromosome then he could never produce the father and, therefore, can not select the sex of the grand child.

    However, if the father is a product of scientific breakthrough between 2 women or the grandfather just have as many kids as possible until he gets a male offspring, then you can still have the father and the probability of sex of the child would be independent of the grandfather.

    Statistically, the grandfather can only produce 2 possible chromosomes, X or Y. Producing an X chromosome means the grandfather will no longer influence the outcomes of the grandchildren. Only if he gets a Y chromosome could he continues to influence the outcomes of the sex of the offsprings. Therefore the probability of having a the probability of having the sex of the child is equal to the probability of the grandfather giving the Y chromosome (minus other potential errors).

    For example, if you flip a coin, heads you win and you can continue. If you lose then it's game over. Then the possibility of you getting the chance to get and head or tail on the 2nd flip must depends on you getting heads on the 1st flip. If you didn't win the 1st time then you wouldn't get to flip the 2nd time.

    • @oddwaffle Not sure what to say, right, but not right, maybe: The grandfather produces a son, XY chromosomes. Y from him, and X from the mother. That one grows up, XY, and has a child. He can produce X or Y sperm. The female can only produce X. The fact that the Grandfather had a male child, means that the Grandfather has no more control over the gender of the child, except, if he passed on a gene for MORE X chromosome sperm, than Y, or vice versa. I know of no studies on this. It really is the FATHER, and his predisposition to produce more X, or Y sperm, so partly right, partly not, depending on how you look at it!

Most Helpful Guy

  • The sex of an offspring is determined by the sperm (not from a Grandfather unless it is the Grandfather's sperm). All humans are female by default when developing in utero (this is why men also have nipples). It's only when the sex determining region of the Y-chromosome is activated that sexual differentiation into a male may occur. There are situations in which an individual may develop otherwise such as congenital adrenal hyperplasia (most commonly by 21 alpha hydroxylase deficiency), but this involves hormones affecting secondary sexual differentiation.

    The short answer, the father's sperm determines sex.

Most Helpful Girls

  • I think false. But it’s paternal not fraternal. Fraternal means brother.

    How’s your potato doing?

  • False. A human embryo starts off female until hormones act upon it to make it male.

    • true thats why we all have nipples even guys

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What Girls & Guys Said

2 21

  • You're comparing direct vs. indirect determinations. The father's sperm directly determines the child's sex - the PATERNAL (not fraternal) grandfather's influence on his grandchild's sex is, at best, indirect.

  • I fail to see the link with the grandfather. Eggs are always x and sperm can be either x or y. An x sperm fusing with an x egg will be xx, eg a girl and an y sperm fusing with an x egg will be xy, hence a girl.

    The influence of the grandfather is only there that he creates a son that created the male, eg if he had no kids or only girls he would not have had any influence. Every male has y and x sperm cells, regardless of his father and grandfather.

  • Yes filler

  • False

  • It depends on which of the father's sperm actually penetrates the egg. It is either X or Y, and while 'grandpa' contributed to who the father is, genetically, he really has no 'input' (Oh, is that a bad unintentional pun?) to the grandchild. Maybe, he might, in some way, if there is a heritable genetic predisposition to produce more Y chromosome sperm, along a family line. . . I have not seen any studies on that.

  • I've heard something special is given by the father specifically but now I can't even find what it is 😅

  • Not at all. Men produce male and female sperm cells and it’s a race to fertilize the ovum.

  • From what I’ve heard, the father’s seed is what ultimately determines the sex of the offspring.

  • This is puzzling wish I could be more help

  • Only if he's the one you had sex with. ;)

  • no. the father does but not the grandfather

  • The sex is directly determined by the father.
    ALL of the genetic material passed down generation through generation that made its way into the father's DNA is INdirectly responsible for the genetics of the offspring.

  • I believe you're looking for the term "paternal", not "fraternal", and it's true that the sex is determined by the male but you can't extrapolate beyond that. For instance, the male gives either an x or y chromosome. If he donates a y chromosome, then it had to have come from his father. If he donates an x chromosome, it originally came from his mother.

    So no, the child is not determined by the paternal grandfather.

  • Sorry fluffy I have no idea

  • It is determined by the fraternal father not the grandfather. But i think i know what you mean. The Y chromosome that determines the males can only be found in males only. So the Y chromosome from the grandfather determines the father. Then the father's Y chromosome determines the son.
    What i found interesting about genetics is that for people who have gluten intolerance is transferred down the mother's line. So every daughter and son she has will be gluten intolerant. Every girl and boy the daughters have will be gluten intolerant. But on the son's side only the girls are affected. The boys are not affected. This happened in my family. My grandmother was gluten intolerant so my dad became gluten intolerant. He had me, my brother and my sister. My sister is gluten intolerant but my brother and i can have gluten without any problems. Lol it's crazy but amazing. I loved genetics. 😎

  • True

  • If you say so!

  • are you just asking for the sake of it? or are these genuine

    • I'm trying to ensure I answer accurately on an assignment

    • too bad

  • False.

  • Life is complicated and N is a guy or a girk.

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