KyushuCalanthe
Just call me Tom
- Joined
- Jan 12, 2008
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That is a debatable point of course, but...
In fact you can. As a female you have the potential to continue forward without males through the process of parthenogenesis. An excerpt from Wikipedia:
Parthenogenesis (from the Greek παρθένος parthenos, "virgin", + γένεσις genesis, "creation") is a form of asexual reproduction found in females, where growth and development of embryos occurs without fertilization by a male. In plants, parthenogenesis means development of an embryo from an unfertilized egg cell, and is a component process of apomixis. The offspring produced by parthenogenesis are always female in species that use the XY sex-determination system, and male in those that use the ZW sex-determination system.
While this form of reproduction is found in various organisms naturally (as is sex changing BTW without any nasty surgery), it potentially could be induced in humans as well.
Which brings me to another funny biological story. There are fish that live on the abyssal plain that have evolved to the point of putting an exclamation point on the reason why males exist at all: simply put, sperm producers. I love this section from the following article,
"But the male’s most acute feature is its olfactory sense. Intensely intuned to the pheromones produced by the female, its first hours of life involve a relentless hunt for a mate. Once she’s found the male latches on to the skin with his teeth. Digestive enzymes are released from the mouth that dissolve the skin of the female and cause the flesh of both sexes to melt and meld. The male is now essentially a fully parasitic being. Once the union is formed all of the male’s organs atrophy until it is nothing but a sperm machine. Acting on pheromonic cues from the female, the male releases his gonads at the female’s whim once a year. :rollhappy::rollhappy::rollhappy:This will continue annually for their thirty year or more life span.
The full article: How pathetic is this guy?
wow....crazy fish!
