Squeezing out more than just prey...

Researchers at North Carolina State University have discovered that female boa constrictors can squeeze out babies without mating.

Large litters of all-female babies have been produced by the "super mom" boa constrictor show absolutely no male influence and no genetic fingerprint that a male was involved in the reproductive process. All the female babies also retained their mother's rare recessive color mutation. Snake sex chromosomes are a bit different from those in mammals: male snakes' cells have two Z chromosomes, while female snakes' cells have a Z and a W chromosome. Yet in the study, all the female babies produced by asexual reproduction had WW chromosomes. (Picture: 'super-mom' boa's offspring: her sexually produced snake (left) is shown beside one of the asexually produced females (right).

Not that this research plays any role in the advancement of humans, but I found it interesting to think about. Asexual reproduction in reptiles was previously thought to be impossible. Now researchers are going to be taking a closer look into the reproduction of reptiles. The article goes on to say that there were no environmental changes made so no stress was produced on the female boa to reproduce asexually. Researcher Dr. Warren Booth said in the article, "Reproducing both ways (sexually and asexually) could be an evolutionary 'get-out-of-jail-free card' for snakes. If suitable males are absent, why waste those expensive eggs when you have the potential to put out some half-clones of yourself? Then, when a suitable mate is available, revert back to sexual reproduction." It will be interesting to see if the offspring from the multiple litters of the "super-mom" boa will reproduce asexually as well. I wonder if this genetic alteration with these WW chromosome females will cause complications for the snakes?

I was recently involved in a discussion with some fellow classmates about whether males are needed in the human race. It was argued that a population lacking males would prosper just fine. And the only importance males have is in their genetic material (sperm) to produce offspring. Well, as a dude, I don't know about this 'super-race' of female humans, but seems to me the boa constrictors have it figured out.