sugar helps bind sperm to egg!!
Sounds simple, but I believe this is a BIG step forward in unraveling the riddle of gender ratio. Ions, timing, pH is all speculative but this sugar-coated egg seems to have been actually observed in the lab to matter. No evidence that it matters for gender ratio but I wouldn't be surprised if it does...since we know for a fact that XX and XY fertilized eggs develop better or worse in different levels of glucose, it makes a lot of sense that a mechanism would have evolved that would help ensure a sperm of the "right" gender met the egg to optimize the bean's chances at survival.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/...77I4EA20110819
http://www.dailytech.com/Discovery+o...ticle22496.htm