Before all you guys start biting my head off, I'm not writing this to insult anyone from the male gender (after all, I'm in love with a wonderful man :*)...
It's just that more and more animals are now reproducing without the help of the male species. Birds and Bees can do it and the latest animal to be added to this list is the Shark. A female hammerhead shark has just given birth to a baby shark without the help of a male. No paternal DNA has been found in the baby shark. Click here to read the full article.
Could a female dominant society actually exist in the future? Makes you wonder, doesn't it?!!!
p.s. Apologies to anyone who might be offended by this post...
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9 comments:
hmm..interesting indeed..thanks for sharing this info but iam still confused with the unusual method of reproduction...anyways on another note i might be entirely wrong but could there be science behind the birth of jesus form a virgin mother mary? who knows lol
Ya parthi, I was thinking about the jesus theory as well, but didn't want to go into it as it might get too contraversial!
I read the story on Biology Letters and New Scientist, this morning, it's fascinating.
I think it makes sense as if female sharks have trouble finding a mate, asexual reproduction is an option. However these is a 50% loss of genetic diversity so it would be detrimental to survival if it happened more often. Possibly explains why it's rare and hasn't been reported until now.
No males = No sperm = No Fertilisation of female egg = Extinction.
Alternativly there is cloning.
Even artificial insemination requires the services of a sperm bank.....
Discuss
Hi Anonymous, this unusual method of reproduction is known as "parthenogenesis", where an egg starts to divide without being fertilised and is male free asexual reproduction. The full report can be viewed by clicking the link given in the post. So technically, extinction wouldn't happen and in this case it's preventing the extinction of this species of Sharks!
""parthenogenesis", where an egg starts to divide without being fertilised"
This is not a new idea. I have read Martin Wickramasinghe writing about the very possibility in his book Saththwa Santhathiya, (or somewhere else,) many years ago.
It may work, but where is the fun in it???
A really bad idea
"Life will find a way"
- Ian Malcolm (Jurassic Park")
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