BBC Learning English 

6 Minute English  

The extinction¹ of men 

15 March 2012 

This is not a word for word transcript². 

Neil:   Hello and welcome to Six-Minute English from BBC Learning English, I'm Neil 

and with me today is Rosie. 

Rosie:   Hi there.  

Neil:  Well, today we're talking about men. 

Rosie: That sounds interesting. 

Neil:  It is very interesting especially if you're a man because it seems we've had 

our existence extended. 

Rosie:   I'm sorry? 

Neil:  Well, some previous scientific research had suggested that the Y 

chromosome³, which is responsible for men's sex organs and hormones⁴, is 

rotting away! 

Rosie:  Oh dear. Are you going to make it till the end of the programme, Neil? 

Neil:  Ah yes – even the most  pessimistic findings suggested that men had 100 

thousand years left, so I think 6 minutes is ok! Before we get into this story 

though, I have a quiz question for you, Rosie. Are you ready? 

Rosie:  Yes, I am. 

Neil:  It's a simple question. What is the ratio  of men to women in the world? Is it  

  a) Equal – so 100 males to every 100 females. 

  b) 101 males to every 100 females. 

  c) 100 males to every 105 females. 

Rosie:  Well, I have absolutely no idea. So, I am going to guess and I am going to 

say c) 100 males to every 105 females. 

Neil:  OK, we'll find out at  the end of the programme. 

Rosie:  So, tell me more about this new research into the possible  extinction of men. 

Neil:   Well it now seems that men can breathe a sigh of relief . Scientists 

compared the decline in the male human 's Y chromosome – remember that's 

the thing that's responsible for deciding the sex of a child – with that of the 

rhesus monkey.  

Rosie:   OK. That's the monkey that we  separated from 25 million years ago. 

Neil:  That's right. And their conclusi on was that the Y chromosome is depleted⁵  but 

it's still got all of the vital bits. 

Rosie:  Lucky you! Here's Jennifer Hughes from  the Whitehead Inst itute in Cambridge 

Massachusetts. She was in charge of the research: 

Jennifer Hughes, Whitehead Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts 

I think that the odds⁶ of the Y losing any more genes⁷ are pretty slim. It appears that it's 

been stable for 25 million years and that is a good indication that's it going to be stable for 

many many millions of years to come and the genes that remain on the Y probably have 

very important functions and therefore natural selection is doing a very good job of 

preserving those genes. 

Rosie:  She said the odds of the Y chromosome losing any more  genes are pretty 

slim – meaning it's unlikely. Genes are the parts of cells which have the 

information which passes characteristics from a parent to a child. 

Neil:   So it sounds like us males are safe  for many millions of years to come. 

Rosie:  She also added that natural selection is doing a very good job of preserving 

the genes. 

Neil:  Natural selection is the way animals die when they are weak or living in 

unsuitable surroundings. Meanwhile the stronger ones continue to live. Let's 

have another listen to that interview with Jennifer Hughes, who's in charge of 

the research: 

Jennifer Hughes, Whitehead Institute in Cambridge Massachusetts 

I think that the odds of the Y losing any more genes are pretty slim. It appears that it's 

been stable for 25 million years and that is a good indication that's it going to be stable for 

many many millions of years to come and the genes that remain on the Y probably have 

very important functions and therefore natural selection is doing a very good job of 

preserving those genes. 

Neil:  Now here's an interesting fact, Rosie. Did you know that men's sex 

chromosomes⁸ are not as sophisticated as female ones? 

Rosie:  No I didn't know that, but it doesn't come as a surprise to me! 

Neil:  I thought you might say that. But you know what – I'm happy having less 

sophisticated chromosomes if it means men continue to live for a little longer. 

Now there's only one way to end this programme, Rosie, and that is to 

imagine a world without men. 

Rosie:  OK, well for a start more would get done. 

Neil:  Are you suggesting that men are lazy? 

Rosie:  Well, they can be. My boyfriend, for example, had never used a washing 

machine until he was 30 years old. 

Neil:  Right, well we're getting into  stereotypes  here! So how about this one - if 

there were only women in the world,  you'd never get into the bathroom.  

Rosie:  OK, I'll give you that one. I agree  that women do spend longer in the 

bathroom than men. 

Neil:  And who's going to catch spiders and mice for you? 

Rosie:  Ah, now that is absolutely not true! My boyfriend is terrified of mice. In fact 

he ran away from one in the kitchen just last night.  

Neil:  Well, to be honest, I don't really like mice either, I must say. But what about 

lifting heavy things? I am always expected to do heavy lifting, which I hate by 

the way. 

Rosie:  Yes I confess that men are useful for th at. And also for opening jars with the 

lids too tightly screwed on. And on a more serious note, I think there would 

probably be far fewer wars if there were only women. I think women would be 

more likely to talk problems over than resort to violence. 

Neil:  Well you might be right  there but it's difficult to  say because most of the 

world's leaders are men of course. OK Ro sie, this entertaining debate must 

come to an end. We need an answer to the question. I asked what the ratio is 

of men to women in the world. Is it  

  a) Equal – so for every 100 males there are 100 females. 

  b) 101 males to every 100 females. 

  c) 100 males to every 105 females. 

  What did you say? 

Rosie:  I said c) 100 males to every 105 females 

Neil:  And you were completely wrong. It's  101 males to every 100 females. Do join 

us again for more 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. Bye for now! 

Rosie: Bye bye! 

Vocabulary and definitions 

chromosome  a very small structure in animal or plant cells  

hormones  chemical substances in the body that influence cell 

function 

pessimistic  expecting bad things to happen 

ratio  numerical expression of the relative sizes between two 

or more values   

extinction  a situation in which a life form stops existing 

breathe a sigh of relief  feel happy that something unpleasant stops 

depleted  reduced by a large amount 

genes  units in cells that control qualities passed on through 

generations 

natural selection  a process in nature that determines chances of survival   

stereotypes  a fixed idea or image that people have about 

something