Warning: Major geek-ranting ahead.
Okay, seriously, I love Numb3rs, and they (the writers) usually have a pretty good grasp on the science-y bits of the show, but on this week's episode (Devil Girl, [6x13])? Not so much.
Okay, even I, as a person who only got a B in Biology, knows one simple fact that apparently the writers of the show don't: It is extremely rare for a woman to present with haemophilia. Be a carrier of the disease, yes, fine, that's been proven (Queen Victoria and most of her female descendents were carriers, including Empress (Tsaritsa) Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia {married to Czar Nicolas II, last Czar of Russia}, and her children. Most famously, her son, Alexei, who was a definite presenter of the disease.), but for them to be affected by the disease? Not so much. {Yes, I'm also a history geek. Hush.}
Seriously, five seconds on Wikipedia got me this little blurb about the disease:
"Haemophilia (also spelled hemophilia in North America, from the Greek haima αἷμα 'blood' and philia φιλος 'friend'[1]) is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Haemophilia A (clotting factor VIII deficiency) is the most common form of the disorder, occurring at about 1 in 5,000-10,000 male births.[2] Haemophilia B (factor IX deficiency) occurs at about 1 in about 20,000-34,000 male births.
Similarly to most recessive sex-linked, X chromosome disorders, hemophilia is more likely to occur in males rather than females. This is due to the fact that females have two X chromosomes while males have only one, lacking a 'back up' copy for the defective gene; the defective gene becomes manifest more easily in males. Because females have two X chromosomes and because haemophilia is rare, the chance of a female having two defective copies of the gene is very low, thus females are almost exclusively asymptomatic carriers of the disorder. Female carriers may inherit the defective gene from either their mother, father, or it may be a new mutation. Only under rare circumstances do females actually have haemophilia."
See those bits I bolded? Yeah. It takes maybe ten seconds to scan over the scientific medbabble to get there. Maybe the Powers that Be wanted to make the plot a bit more interesting. I don't know. Still, it bugs me.
Tl;dr: Science!fail on this week's Numb3rs. Someone should've paid a little more attention in Biology class.
All quotes within the LJ cut belong to Wikipedia. There. You can't sue me.
Okay, even I, as a person who only got a B in Biology, knows one simple fact that apparently the writers of the show don't: It is extremely rare for a woman to present with haemophilia. Be a carrier of the disease, yes, fine, that's been proven (Queen Victoria and most of her female descendents were carriers, including Empress (Tsaritsa) Alexandra Feodorovna of Russia {married to Czar Nicolas II, last Czar of Russia}, and her children. Most famously, her son, Alexei, who was a definite presenter of the disease.), but for them to be affected by the disease? Not so much. {Yes, I'm also a history geek. Hush.}
Seriously, five seconds on Wikipedia got me this little blurb about the disease:
"Haemophilia (also spelled hemophilia in North America, from the Greek haima αἷμα 'blood' and philia φιλος 'friend'[1]) is a group of hereditary genetic disorders that impair the body's ability to control blood clotting or coagulation, which is used to stop bleeding when a blood vessel is broken. Haemophilia A (clotting factor VIII deficiency) is the most common form of the disorder, occurring at about 1 in 5,000-10,000 male births.[2] Haemophilia B (factor IX deficiency) occurs at about 1 in about 20,000-34,000 male births.
Similarly to most recessive sex-linked, X chromosome disorders, hemophilia is more likely to occur in males rather than females. This is due to the fact that females have two X chromosomes while males have only one, lacking a 'back up' copy for the defective gene; the defective gene becomes manifest more easily in males. Because females have two X chromosomes and because haemophilia is rare, the chance of a female having two defective copies of the gene is very low, thus females are almost exclusively asymptomatic carriers of the disorder. Female carriers may inherit the defective gene from either their mother, father, or it may be a new mutation. Only under rare circumstances do females actually have haemophilia."
See those bits I bolded? Yeah. It takes maybe ten seconds to scan over the scientific medbabble to get there. Maybe the Powers that Be wanted to make the plot a bit more interesting. I don't know. Still, it bugs me.
Tl;dr: Science!fail on this week's Numb3rs. Someone should've paid a little more attention in Biology class.
All quotes within the LJ cut belong to Wikipedia. There. You can't sue me.