Gender Divide: Gene expression differs in males and females
There are far more biological differences between males and females than meet the naked eye. A new study suggests that the two sexes vary in the amounts of proteins produced by thousands of genes—information that could explain why some diseases strike men and women differently.
“We’re certainly conscious that sex can have an effect on numerous diseases,” says Thomas Drake of the University of California, Los Angeles. For example, he points out, autoimmune diseases such as lupus disproportionately strike women, whereas men are more likely to have autism and some other mental disorders.