Blame dad for your height, thank mum for your brains

As stupid as your mother – sounds cliché, but many adults told children this line, especially in the past when the voice of women was muted. The general rule is that we inherit half of our genes from each parent. The above statement appears chauvinistic but has been scientifically proven. Fathers bring X and Y chromosomes, while mothers bring two X chromosomes.

Some traits attach to either the Y or X chromosome. What is found in the X chromosome can be acquired from both parents, but what is on the Y chromosome can only be inherited from fathers. It has been proven that intelligence is inherited from mothers. There are other traits that we only get from our fathers.

Our gender is determined by our fathers. It was common back in the day for women who bore girls only to be looked down upon. People do not know that it is the father who determines the sex of a child by the single gene out of his XY chromosomes he donates to conception. This knowledge has saved face for many women and made attempts by men to sire sons out of wedlock futile.

Our dental formula is inherited exclusively from our fathers. I am one man who will secretly analyse the dental formula of ladies. I will label a lady beautiful, then later ask myself what is really unique about the lady, only to discover that she has a perfect dental formula. The homeobox gene, which determines dental development and alignment, is found in the X chromosome. Environmental factors, food and water can affect the general appearance of our teeth. Nevertheless, the structure is inherited from fathers.

Baldness or good hair is inherited from fathers. If your father has a receding hairline, prepare for a hair transplant. The X chromosome holds the androgen receptor gene, which is responsible for hair distribution and growth. However, it is believed that it is located in the X chromosome from the father. Some scientists still believe that the androgen receptor gene can still be acquired from the mother, so do not worry. Balding is exclusively inherited from fathers but can also feature in daughters who pick it from their fathers.

Are you short? Height is exclusively inherited from fathers. If you want tall children, then ladies must marry tall men. The good news is that environmental factors and diet also determine how tall someone grows. So we can compensate for poor genes in this regard with good nutrition.

White fat

We also inherit the colour of our eyes and the shape of the tip of our nose and cheekbones from our fathers. We also get our mental health traits from our fathers, even as mothers donate their intelligence. So the above-named tirade on mothers is double-edged. The Y chromosome that is exclusively inherited from fathers gives boys the advantage or disadvantage of inheriting a good number of traits from their fathers. The other traits can be shared as some can be inherited but remain recessive.

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Our bodies store brown and white fat. In this era of obesity and lifestyle diseases, it is good to take note of these two factors. Brown fat is what we burn to produce energy if we strain beyond the capacity the food we eat can provide. White fat is stored in the body and can lead to obesity. The gene for brown fat is inherited from the mother and white fat from the father. However, research has shown that environmental factors determine how much fat we store more than genes.

Relax. Genetics is a very complex area and even scientists who study it agree that we only know a tiny bit of it. This means that nature and more so the making of life is very complex for man to fully fathom. Nurture and the environment we grow up in also determine how some traits dominate over others.

Even intelligence that is believed to be determined by the X chromosome, which women carry a pair of, is not as direct as it is. There are other factors from the single X chromosome from the father that also affect it. However, some scientists believe that nature has a way of deactivating these factors from the father.

There is the trait where children of short Asian immigrants in the USA grow as tall as Americans. Kenyans from Rift Valley who grow up in urban centres do not express their athletic prowess even if they are genetically endowed with it. Some diseases are also localized, which may hinder certain genes from expressing themselves fully. We also do not fully have a choice in what we eat. This is determined by what is locally available and what we can afford. A small difference in environmental context can make a huge difference in how certain genes express themselves. So, relax, do not sweat the details, a big devil lives there.