] Of all our chromosomes, it is the only one that is
] permanently locked into the germ cells of men, where the
] frenzy of cell division and error-prone DNA copying
] required to keep up the daily output of 150 million sperm
] creates the ideal conditions for mutation. And it shows.
] Seven percent of men are infertile or sub-fertile and in
] roughly a quarter of cases the problem is traceable to
] new Y chromosome mutations, not present in their fathers,
] which disable one or other of the few remaining genes.
] This is an astonishingly high figure, and there is no
] reason to think things will improve in the future --
] quite the reverse in fact. One by one, Y chromosomes will
] disappear, eliminated by the relentless onslaught of
] irreparable mutation, until only one is left. When that
] chromosome finally succumbs, men will become extinct.
]
] But when? I estimate that, at the current rate, male
] fertility caused by Y chromosome decay will decline to 1
] percent of its present level within 5,000 generations --
] roughly 125,000 years. Not exactly the day after
] tomorrow -- but equally, not an unimaginably long time
] ahead.

This is a very entertaining article, particularly if you are into genetic engineering. How well accepted is this theory?

On the death of Y chromosomes