Men’s days may be numbered. A researcher from Australia found that the Y chromosome, which only men carry, has lost a significant amount of genes over the past few million years and, at this rate, may be entirely impotent within another five million.

Professor Jennifer Graves told students at Scotland’s Royal College of Surgeons: "Three hundred million years ago, the Y chromosome had about 1,400 genes on it, and now it’s only got 45 left, so, at this rate, we’re going to run out of genes on the Y chromosome in about five million years. The Y chromosome is dying and the big question is: What happens then?"

The answer may be found in rats, who manage to reproduce without the essential SRY gene. "The good news is certain rodent species — the mole voles of Eastern Europe and the country rats of Japan — have no Y chromosome and no SRY gene," explained Graves. "Yet there are still plenty of healthy male mole voles and country rats running around. Some other gene must have taken over the job and we’d like to know what that gene is."

Read more about this story at The Scotsman.