Imagine if you only had one shot at passing on your genes before you died. It happens more often in the natural world than you might expect: suicidal reproduction – where one or both sexes of a species die after a single ...
Plants & Animals
Oct 7, 2013
2
0
New research provides insight about the bedrock scientific principle that mitochondrial DNA—the distinct genetic code embedded in the organelle that serves as the powerplant of every cell in the body—is exclusively passed ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 18, 2023
0
356
New analysis of the DNA sequence of the male-specific Y chromosomes from all living species of the great ape family helps to clarify our understanding of how this enigmatic chromosome evolved. A clearer picture of the evolution ...
Evolution
Oct 6, 2020
4
1035
(Phys.org)—Many intuitions drawn from our machine world do not smoothly extended to the biological. Whereas the screws or other fasteners used in an automobile typically tend to loosen over time with use, the hardware found ...
Quality sperm, good genes, and courtship knowledge are just a few reasons why females might benefit from mating with older males.
Plants & Animals
Jan 25, 2018
0
225
A simple, reversible chemical treatment can segregate X-bearing sperm from Y-bearing sperm, allowing dramatic alteration of the normal 50/50 male/female offspring ratio, according to a new study by Masayuki Shimada and colleagues ...
Cell & Microbiology
Aug 13, 2019
1
206
In the animal kingdom, sperm usually are considerably smaller than eggs, which means that males can produce far more of them. Large numbers of tiny sperm can increase the probability of successful fertilization, especially ...
Plants & Animals
May 25, 2016
2
19
Malaria is a deadly disease transmitted by the bite of an infected mosquito. Curiously, only female mosquitoes bite – male mosquitoes only feed on sugar, not on blood. That is because male mosquitoes do not need an extra ...
Cell & Microbiology
Sep 23, 2015
4
59
A large international team of researchers has uncovered the origin of an ancient genetic mechanism needed for plant fertility.
Evolution
Jan 7, 2019
0
244
Biologists at the University of Leicester have published results of a new study into plant sex - and discovered that a particular gene switches on 'the essence of male'.
Cell & Microbiology
Mar 20, 2009
0
0
