[quote author=longelephantballs link=board=meetgreet;num=1058897572;start=20#29 date=07/26/03 at 13:45:43]Hey jonb,
Regarding this paragraph you lost me.
I think it's simply a multiple-allele, incomplete-dominance trait. I don't know how many alleles are present, though. It could be some somatic, some sex-linked, for example. There are also environmental factors, such as nutrition and degree of testosterone.
What is?
multiple-akkeke
incomplete dominance trait
alleles
Are you saying we can eat (nutrition) our way to a big cock?[/quote]
Allele = a gene. A multiple-allele trait is one with two or more pairs of alleles affecting the trait.
Incomplete dominance is a condition where neither gene is dominant, so an "average" works out between them. It's one of the seven major exceptions to Mendelian genetics.
And no, I wasn't saying we can eat our way to a big cock; I was referring more to during puberty. Height also correlates with nutrition in childhood. I don't think this goes on in adulthood. But of course, if your genes say no, no diet can help you.
The other major case is heterochrony (differences in developmental timing). If puberty begins earlier or ends later, or your penis simply grows more rapidly, it means you'll be bigger. (If it does the opposite, you'll be smaller.) Heterochrony is important in evolution, providing major effects (potentially even reproductive isolation) with just one change, but has long been taboo simply because 1) everyone has their own terminology for heterochronic changes, and 2) there's no way to tell what stage of development a fossil's in.