Randy Rotifers: Environmental Variation Prompts More Sex

Thursday, October 14, 2010 - 14:00 in Health & Medicine

Sex can be a costly endeavor--biologically, that is. Combining genetic material can of course bring beneficial new combinations, but even for tiny organisms that are barely visible to the naked eye, mating is fraught with all kinds of hazards, such as a long wait for offspring, sexually transmitted diseases, and the risk of getting eaten during or after sex. So why , if many of these bitty beasts can produce asexually , do some of them do it anyway? [More]

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