Reproduction without sex is more common than scientists thought
Several vertebrates, including turkeys, snakes and now crocodiles, can do it without doing it
Sex is a tricky business, evolutionarily speaking. One problem is that sexually reproducing organisms must suffer the considerable faff of securing a mate (for the males of some species, the struggle to do so can be fatal). Another is that the mixing of two genomes into one offspring means that, per child, each parent gets only half its genes into the next generation rather than the full complement.
This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Sometimes it only takes one to tango”
Science & technology June 10th 2023
From the June 10th 2023 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Science & technology
Does melatonin work for jet lag?
It can help. But it depends where you’re going
Training AI models might not need enormous data centres
Eventually, models could be trained without any dedicated hardware at all
How the Gulf’s rulers want to harness the power of science
A stronger R&D base, they hope, will transform their countries’ economies. Will their plan work?
Cancer vaccines are showing promise at last
Trials are under way against skin, brain and lung tumours
New firefighting tech is being trialled in Sardinia’s ancient forests
It could sniff out blazes long before they spread out of control
Can Jeff Bezos match Elon Musk in space?
After 25 years, Blue Origin finally heads to orbit, and hopes to become a contender in the private space race