Worms can evolve to survive intersex populations

(PhysOrg.com) -- Sexually reproducing species need at least two sexes in order to produce offspring, but there are many ways that nature produces different sexes. Many animals (including humans and other mammals) use a chromosomal ...

Sex explains why the fit don't always survive

(PhysOrg.com) -- New research from The Australian National University has shown how genetic variation persists through generations, rather than being bred out in an evolution towards a ‘perfect type’.

Evolution keeps sex determination flexible

There are many old wives' tales about what determines a baby's sex, yet it is the tight controls at the gene level that determine an organism's sex in most species. Researchers at Michigan State University have found that ...

B chromosomes affect sex determination in cichlid fishes

B chromosomes have a functional effect on sex determination in a species of cichlid fishes from Lake Victoria, according to a study by Japanese researchers to be published in open-access journal PLoS Genetics on August 18th, ...

Researcher argues that sex reduces genetic variation

Biology textbooks maintain that the main function of sex is to promote genetic diversity. But Henry Heng, Ph.D., associate professor in WSU's Center for Molecular Medicine and Genetics, says that's not the case.

Birdsong independent of brain size

(PhysOrg.com) -- The brains of all vertebrates display gender-related differences. In songbirds, for example, the size of the brain areas that control their singing behaviour could be linked to the size of their song repertoires. ...

Sex differences determined not simply by gender

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at Imperial College London have uncovered an inherent difference in the way the genes of males or females can be "switched off" or silenced in the body's developing immune system. This finding ...

Unusual sex chromosome creates third sex in Hessian flies

(PhysOrg.com) -- Expectant human parents might wish for a boy or girl, but Hessian flies actually have a third option, and, no matter what, the flies are never surprised by the sex of their offspring.

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