Monthly Archives: October 2011

The NYC sex education “scandal”

Posted on October 30, 2011 by

I live in New York state and, lately, the news has been all abuzz with stories about the new NYC sex education law which is, apparently, controversial. A never-ending parade of news articles with varying levels of truthiness, along with opinion … Continue reading →

Posted in Human sex, Sex and society | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Worms do it, mice do it: eggs destroy sperm mitochondria

Posted on October 29, 2011 by

Everyone knows that you get half your genes from your mom and half from your dad. But that’s not the whole story. You also get another kind of DNA, mitochondrial DNA, that only comes from Mom. Men have mitochondria, too, … Continue reading →

Posted in Eggs and sperm | Tagged , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Chivalry is not dead, at least among crickets

Posted on October 25, 2011 by

Males of many species “guard” females after they’ve mated, presumably to prevent them from mating with other males. But in the cricket Gryllus campestris, males have a more noble intent when they guard their mate: to save her from being … Continue reading →

Posted in Insect reproduction, Sexual behavior | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

The making of a toad, through sex and cloning

Posted on October 23, 2011 by

At a certain age, children want to know the answer to one simple question: how are babies made? And the answer seems simple enough, too (if sometimes a bit awkward): one sperm plus one egg equals a baby. But this … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution of sex | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Older worms have more sex appeal

Posted on October 18, 2011 by

C. elegans are tiny worms that exist as hermaphrodites or rare males. A male rubs against a hermaphrodite with the mating apparatus on his tails and if he thinks she’s sexy enough, he’ll try to mate with her. And what … Continue reading →

Posted in Evolution of sex, Sexual behavior | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment