[Kalimac]

I don't know, you could probably apply hard science (in the form of basic genetics) to this problem. In fact I remember working a problem on a biology test that was an awful lot like this one [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]. Basically all you have to do is suppose that Dwarves can carry genes that have to do with genetic diseases on one of their sex chromosomes - humans of course can carry such genes on the X chromosome. Say that there's a particular gene out there, A, which helps Dwarves do some fairly vital function, such as being able to implant in the womb (I know there's no one gene out there that could do this, so please don't smack me, scientists - I'm trying to simplify [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]). Suppose that there are also two other versions of this gene, B and C, both of which also have the ability to do this. Almost any combination works fine - A alone, B alone, C alone, A with B, A with C - HOWEVER B and C TOGETHER are a fatal combination (think sort of like mixing type A blood with type B). Since these genes are carried only on the X chromosome, each male will have only one copy, of A, B or C. So there's no way a male Dwarf could get the fatal BC combination. A female, OTOH, will have a - I want to say almost 50% chance, but my mathematical skills are pretty much nonexistent - so I'll just say that a female has a fairly large chance of getting the BC combination and being miscarried.

Just a thought. Any biologists out there, did that make any sense? I hope so [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img].