Females of the species really are tougher than the male

GIRLS are born genetically-stronger than their male counterparts, new research has demonstrated.

Newborn girls are better able to fight infection and this innate genetic advantage contributes to the longer lifespans women typically enjoy over men.

Research published by the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) found that newborn boys have higher rates of infection and sepsis and poorer survival, compared with baby girls of the same gestational age. The contrast in chromosomal make-up between the sexes is what the RCSI attributes to the genetic advantage of females at birth.

Females carry two copies of the X chromosome while males carry one X and one Y and it is the X chromosome that contains more of the genes associated with immunity.

It is for this reason that females have an advantage in dealing with acute infections.

Higher amounts of the gene that contributes to immunity, IRAK1, are found in the umbilical cord and the blood of newborn girls.

The greater prevalence of the IRAK1 gene detected in girls led the authors of the report to establish that females are better equipped to fight against infection.

Professor Catherine Green senior author of the study published in the current edition of Paediatric Research, said the paper demonstrates that at birth – females are the tougher of the sexes.