Sex And Parthenogenesis

Sex is the queen of problems in evolutionary biology. Generations of researchers have investigated one of the last remaining evolutionary paradoxes: why sex exists at all. Given that sexual reproduction is costly from an evolutionary point of view, one could wonder why not all animals and plants reproduce asexually. Dozens of contemporary hypotheses attempt to explain the prevalence of sex and its advantages and predict the early extinction of fully asexual lineages. The major theme of this book is: what is the fate of animal and plant groups in which sex is lost? Initial chapters discuss theory behind asexual life: what major disadvantages do asexual groups have to face, what are the genetic and ecological consequences and what does this theory predict for more applied aspects of asexual life, for example in agricultural pests, diseases as well as in cultural crops such as grapes. Cases studies in many animals (focusing on both invertebrates and vertebrates) and plants reveal parallel, but also singularly novel adaptations to the absence of meiosis and syngamy. And last but not least, are asexuals really doomed to early extinction or do genuine ancient asexuals exist? This book assembles contributions from the most important research groups dealing with asexual evolution in eukaryotes. It is a milestone in research on parthenogenesis and will be useful to undergraduate as well as graduate students and to senior researchers in all fields of evolutionary biology, as the paradox of sex remains its queen of problems.

Cloning, sex selection, impregnation technologies, in vitro fertilization, parthenogenesis and the coming dominance of women in education and the professions all point to a future devoid of males. Maybe pointing toward a future where breeding has gone mad? This is a tale about an unusual man named Jim, serving as a spawning animal, providing sperm for thousands of women known as breeders that regularly subjected him to involuntary arousal. Living in an ancient domed stadium, his sole purpose was like that of a queen ant or bee: breeding. But not all women were happy in their sexless or lesbian homes. Jim would soon burst free from the stadium and learn what it really means to be a man and work with rebel women to restore balance between the sexes. This novel features many predictions about a future world that while pollution-free, more natural, and free of war still was torn apart by The New Sex.

This text explains the biological aspects of human sex by using direct and intriguing comparisons with the many variations in sexual systems among non-human organisms.