X chromosome not the reason for sex differences in lifespan

The shorter average lifespan of males compared to females appears not to be a result of the fact that males have only one X chromosome. This is the conclusion from a research study on fruit flies at Linköping University, ...

New genes on "deteriorating" Y chromosome

The Y chromosome, which is found only in males, is difficult to decode even with the latest sequencing technologies. Among evolutionary biologists, the question as to which genes lie on the male sex chromosome and where they ...

Scientists map sex chromosome evolution in pathogenic fungi

Biologically speaking, nearly every species on Earth has two opposite sexes, male and female. But with some fungi and other microbes, sex can be a lot more complicated. Some members of Cryptococcus, a family of fungus linked ...

Mutation speeds up sperm of zebra finches

In zebra finches, sperm velocity and morphology and hence reproductive success strongly depend on a specific mutation (an inversion) on one of the sex chromosomes, called Z. This was discovered by scientists of the Max Planck ...

When butterfly male sex-bias flaps its wings

In butterflies, sex is determined by chromosome differences between males and females. But unlike in humans with the familiar X and Y, in butterflies, it is the females that determine the sex of offspring.

Knowledge gap on the origin of sex

There are significant gaps in our knowledge on the evolution of sex, according to a research review on sex chromosomes from Lund University in Sweden. Even after more than a century of study, researchers do not know enough ...

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