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reproduction

Female Python Gives Birth Without Male Contact in At Least 15 Years

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Python - Pixabay

Snake #361003 at the Saint Louis Zoo has laid a clutch of eggs despite not being near a male snake in decades. The ball python, at least 62-years-old, surely deserves a name after pulling off the remarkable feat. The snake has been at the zoo since 1961 and hasn’t even seen a male snake in more than 15 years. “We’re saying 15 plus years, but I mean, it’s probably easily closer to 30 years since she’s been physically with a male,” Mark Wanner, the Zoological Manager of Herpetology told CNN. Full Story at LGBTQ Nation

SCIENCE: Making Mice With Two Dads

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Mice - Pixabay

For the first time, researchers have directly created mice with two dads. The mice weren’t able to survive for more than a day or so after birth, but coaxing an embryo made from the DNA of two dads all the way through fetal development was no small feat. It was much harder, the researchers found, than making mice with two moms. The findings help explain why mammals can’t reproduce with only a single parent. They also may help explain why those animals that can reproduce alone, such as some amphibians, are almost always female. The barrier to single-sex reproduction, said … Read more

SPACE: The Science of Reproducing on Mars

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Mars - pixabay

In 1972, citizen scientist Sir Elton John hypothesized that Mars “ain’t the kind of place to raise your kids.” While John’s remarks were never published in a peer-reviewed journal (though they did peak at No. 2 on the UK Singles Chart), he’s not wrong about the Red Planet’s inhospitality. With its freezing climate, thin atmosphere and weak gravity, Mars will be a hard place to raise the children necessary to sustain a permanent colony there. And according to a new paper published in the June issue of the journal Futures, conceiving kids on Mars will be even harder. Thinking about … Read more

SCIENCE: Shark Reproduces Asexually

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zebra_shark

Chalk it up to 2016. For the first known time, a shark has reproduced asexually after having previously produced offspring through mating. A zebra shark in an Australian aquarium has been reported to have made the switch in April of last year. The proud and apparently determined mother, Leonie, delivered three pups, Cleo, CC and Gemini, at the Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Queensland. She had previously had a male partner from 2006 through 2012, birthing 20 pups, until aquarium staff had trouble keeping up with the number of young she was having. But she had apparently not let that separation cramp her … Read more

New Method Might Allow Gay Couples to Have Babies

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science

Gay men may one day be able to have a baby together without the need of a female egg, a new study has revealed. The research conducted by fertility experts at Bath University has found that it’s possible to create an embryo by fusing skin cells with sperm – suggesting the female half may not be needed. A woman would still have to act as a surrogate to carry the baby, but the study found that it was possible to conceive healthy mice using other types of cells and sperm. By Bobby Rae – Full Story at Pink News

Worldbuilding Week Day Four: Sex, Marriage and Reproduction

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Worldbuilding Week

Welcome to the second annual Worldbuilding Week at QSF. We’ll talk about all aspects of building a world for your story, including languages; alien/magical races; history and timelines; culture and politics; sex, marriage and reproduction; and tools and techniques. It should be a lot of fun. Today we’re talking about sex, marriage and reproduction, and Roger Lovelace will be our moderator. Here’s his take: When I volunteered to be a part of this world building exercise, I was a bit surprised to have Sex, Marriage, and Reproduction as my topic. I love world building. It’s one of the reasons I … Read more

WORLDBUILDING WEEK: Day Five – Sex, Marriage, Reproduction

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Worldbuilting Week

Welcome to the first annual Worldbuilding Week at QSF. We’ll talk about all aspects of building a world for your story, including languages; alien/magical races; history and timelines; culture and politics; sex, marriage and reproduction; and tools and techniques. It should be a lot of fun. OK, so you’ve come up with your very own language for your new world. You’ve chosen the most awesome-ever aliens or magical creatures to populate it. You’ve set up a timeline for your history, and you’ve built the culture that they’ll live in. Today we’ll talk about the continuation of the species. Elizabeth Barrette … Read more