Science

¨One Day We´ll be Reproducing Like Amoebas¨

Resultado de imagen para zebra shark

I am telling you girls, every day we are getting closer and closer to discovering how to reproduce by ourselves, like amoebas. Every day we´re getting one step closer to this marvelous accomplishment. This phenomenon can already be seen in animals. A female shark that was separated from her male for a long period of time has acquired the ability to produce offspring on her own. The shark in question named Leonie (zebra shark) had a mate in 1999, and was separated from him in 2012 when she was moved to another tank. From that point on Leonie didn’t have any male contact, but in 2016 she had 3 baby sharks. There were many doubts regarding Leonie’s ability to give birth. One theory was that she could have been storing her mate’s sperm. This theory was debunked when the genetic testing of the baby sharks showed that they only had DNA from their mom. It was already known that sharks and other vertebrates species, like komodo dragons, could reproduce asexually, but most reports have been in females that never had a male partner. Other studies have shown that only boa constrictors and eagles were able to go from sexual reproduction to asexual reproduction. It is possible that this switch from sexual to asexual reproduction is not that unusual, which could be highly advantageous. Imagine the possibilities. 

Camila Pedroza

My name is Camila Pedroza. I am a senior who loves her senior class. I am from Peru. My favorite food is pesto. A word that would describe me would be lowkey.

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