Mikkel Heide Schierup

Mikkel Heide Schierup says: “Our sex chromosomes, the X and the Y, are mysterious. They influence male fertility and have a disproportional role in creating new species, including our own. I hypothesize that this is due to a tug-of-war between the X and Y for entering sperm cells in male meiosis. To test this, I will investigate all stages of human male meiosis using advanced cell sorting and sequencing and relate this to male fertility and the sex of children. I will include other great apes and archaic humans such as Neanderthals to understand the general evolutionary rules and the specific speciation processes as well as genetic causes for male infertility.”