There are many, many, many problems with Yahoo! News (like the way that crypto-fascist rants on a sub-literate open forum can, somehow, end up as a recommended news story). But today, the “Putting the yahoo into Yahoo!” award goes to whoever it is that writes their news headlines. The story was a balanced and well-written report of a study, to be published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. In it, research is reported that indicates that glucose levels around the time of conception may have a role in zygote viability (as the article puts it, “While men’s sperm determine a baby’s gender, it could be that certain nutrients or eating patterns make women’s bodies more hospitable to sperm carrying the male chromosome.”)
What was the headline that Yahoo ran?
“Study: Mother’s diet while pregnant may determine sex of child”
Wow. So close, but so wrong. As seemingly perceived by Yahoo’s sub-editors, having too few Krispy Kreme means a fetus will suddenly, mystically, switch from XY to XX.
This article appears in April 18 • 2008.
