Genetics: Easy as ABC

When we talk about sex and gender, there are a few things that need to be addressed. Biological sex is determined by the sex chromosomes that a person has; if someone has two X chromosomes (XX), they will be biologically female and will have female sex organs. If someone has one X chromosome and one Y chromosome (XY), they will be biologically male and have male sex organs. Gender is the external behaviour and characteristics which are typically expected of women and men; gender identity is an individual’s personal perception of having a particular gender. A person’s sex and gender identity do not always align, and this is called gender dysphoria or transgenderism. In this article, I will be exploring whether being transgender is genetic, as well as discussing the issues many transgender people face. The argument I hear most often is that ‘you can call yourself what you want, but at the end of the day you’re still either biologically male or biologically female’. There are two faults...

Gender inequality has riddled our history and is still frequent today. It is also no secret or surprise that these disparities are prevalent in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths). Despite the big push for women to build careers in STEM, there are still multiple examples of where women have not been accredited for their contribution and accomplishments. A recent report by UNESCO showed that women make up 30% of researchers worldwide and only 24% of the STEM workforce, therefore, in honour of Women’s History Month, I have chosen to use this space to celebrate women in science. The first woman I want to discuss, is Rosalind Franklin. Franklin graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1941 with a degree in physical chemistry, before receiving a research fellowship and graduating with a doctorate from Cambridge in 1945. After this, she became a postdoctoral researcher, where she used X-ray diffraction technology to study the physical and chemical composition of DNA. Around...