On the Mathematics of the Fraternal Birth Order Effect and the Genetics of Homosexuality
Name
10508_2019_1573_ReferencePDF.pdf
Size
203 KB
Format
Unknown
Checksum (MD5)
d0f0bffcb6c7d6ab703d9962839a07b2
Author(s)
Khovanova, Tanya
Date Issued
November 2019
Publisher
Springer US
Version
Author's final manuscript
Abstract
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.
MIT Department
Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Mathematics
Terms of Use
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.
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DOI of Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-019-01573-1
