reproduction

Study Finds Surprises in Evolution of Frog Life Cycles
09/10/2012 - 14:07

All tadpoles grow into frogs, but not all frogs start out as tadpoles, reveals a new study on 720 species of frogs to be published in the journal Evolution. The study, “Phylogenetic analyses reveal unexpected patterns in the evolution of reproductive modes in frogs,” led by John J. Wiens, an Associate Professor in the Department of Ecology and Evolution at Stony Brook University, and colleagues Ivan Gomez-Mestra from the Doñana Biological Station in Seville, Spain, and R. Alexander Pyron from George Washington University, uncovers the surprising evolution of life cycles in frogs.

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Offspring of older fathers may live longer
06/11/2012 - 14:42

If your father and grandfather waited until they were older before reproducing, you might experience life-extending benefits. Biologists assume that a slow pace of aging requires that the body invest more resources in repairing cells and tissues.

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Female bugs overcome cost of traumatic sex
05/09/2012 - 08:20

The study of “sexual conflict” between males and females helps us to understand why sexual reproduction persists given that it can be costly, especially to females. One aspect of this conflict concerns how females respond to increased mating events that are of more benefit to males than to themselves. This work on traumatic insemination was conducted by Umeå University researcher Tom Cameron together with colleagues at the University of Leeds. The results have been published in Biology Letters.

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Women cannot rewind the ‘biological clock’
04/05/2012 - 15:38

Many women do not fully appreciate the consequences of delaying motherhood, and expect that assisted reproductive technologies can reverse their aged ovarian function, Yale researchers reported in a study published in a recent issue of Fertility and Sterility. 

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Evolving to Fight Epidemics: Weakness Can Be an Advantage in Surviving Deadly Parasites, a New Study Shows
03/29/2012 - 14:37

A freshwater zooplankton species known as Daphnia dentifera endures periodic epidemics of a virulent yeast parasite that can infect more than 60 percent of the Daphnia population. During these epidemics, the Daphnia population evolves quickly, balancing infection resistance and reproduction.

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Few Young Women with Cancer Take Steps to Preserve Fertility During Treatments
03/26/2012 - 10:57

A new study has found that very few young women with cancer take steps to preserve their fertility while undergoing cancer therapy. Also, certain groups of young women are more likely to do so than others. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that efforts are needed to provide counseling on fertility preservation in reproductive-aged women diagnosed with cancer.

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