This is a great (and short) explanation of why biologists usually roll our eyes when we hear nonsense like "there are exactly 2 human sexes" or "all humans are either male or female", or especially "it's easy to tell if someone's male or female - just measure [some trait]". People are complicated and biology is messy. Evolution doesn't care about our biases or preferences; it just muddles along with whatever works well enough.
https://theconversation.com/biological-sex-is-neither-binary-nor-a-spectrum-a-biologist-explains-how-its-multidimensional-289786
#biology #SexDetermination
#sexdetermination — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #sexdetermination, aggregated by home.social.
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RNA-binding protein Sxl regulates #SexDetermination & mRNA splicing in #Drosophila. Freya Storer Colin McClure @tonysouthall &co reveal a new role for Sxl in neuronal homeostasis & tRNA synthesis via Polr3E regulation in #neurons @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/4wRR96l
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Changing one DNA letter in a non-coding part of both X chromosomes in embryonic female mice (i.e., in a region that is not part of any gene) causes the mice to develop male genitalia.
Summary: https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1122852
Original paper: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-026-71328-9
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Tiny DNA Snippet Rewrites Biological Sex
New research shows a small DNA change can make male mice develop female sex organs. This could explain some human conditions.
#DNA, #SexDetermination, #Genetics, #Science, #Research
https://newsletter.tf/dna-change-reverses-biological-sex-in-mice/
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Scientists found a tiny DNA change can reverse the biological sex of male mice, making them develop female parts. This is a new clue for understanding sex development.
#DNA, #SexDetermination, #Genetics, #Science, #Research
https://newsletter.tf/dna-change-reverses-biological-sex-in-mice/ -
Scientists discover concerning phenomenon triggering changes in sex of rare crocodiles: ‘Shifting population dynamics’
Rising global temperatures have been linked to several critical climate issues, such as an increase in extreme weather…
#NewsBeep #News #Wildlife #AU #Australia #climateissues #extremeweatherevents #gharial #globaltemperatures #Science #sexdetermination #sexratio #SuryaSharma #Warmerclimateconditions #WildlifeInstituteofIndia
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/109419/ -
Scientists discover concerning phenomenon triggering changes in sex of rare crocodiles: ‘Shifting population dynamics’
Rising global temperatures have been linked to several critical climate issues, such as an increase in extreme weather…
#NewsBeep #News #Wildlife #climateissues #extremeweatherevents #gharial #globaltemperatures #Science #sexdetermination #sexratio #SuryaSharma #UK #UnitedKingdom #Warmerclimateconditions #WildlifeInstituteofIndia
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/105009/ -
Bartagamen(Bearded Dragon)-Fans aufgepasst!
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#Webinar nächsten Dienstag (in English): Forscher stellen das neu sequenzierte Genom der Bartagame vor - und was es über den Mechanismus der Geschlechtsbestimmung verrät.
Der ist ungewöhnlich, weil bei Bartagamen nicht nur die Genetik, sondern auch die Temperatur darüber entscheidet, ob aus einem Ei ein Männchen oder ein Weibchen wird.
🗓️ Tuesday, August 26, 2025 12.00
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Why are tetrapods with ZZ/ZW sex-determination systems more male-skewed than XY/XX?. Phylogenetic analyses of a large dataset of wild #tetrapod species reveal that #SexDetermination systems influence adult #SexRatio via sex-biased adult mortality @PLOSBiology https://plos.io/43qTysJ
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Let me tell you 'bout the birds and the bees and the octopuses:
3-Feb-2025
#Octopuses have some of the oldest known #sexChromosomes
New research at the UO shows they’ve been using one that’s been around for 480 million yearshttps://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1072206 #science #evolution #chromosomes #genome #sexDetermination #cephalopods
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Call of the Mole Vole https://synapsida.blogspot.com/2025/02/call-of-mole-vole.html
"There are over 170 recognised species of vole... And then, there are the #MoleVoles... most (but not all) mole vole species lack a Y chromosome. In these species, the males have exactly the same XX karyotype that females do... As of 2025, we have no clue as to how #SexDetermination works in these species."
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Genetic mechanism of alternating sexes in #walnut #trees has some parallels to #SexDetermination in humans https://phys.org/news/2025-01-genetic-mechanism-alternating-sexes-walnut.html
Ancient structural variants control sex-specific #flowering time morphs in #walnuts and #hickories https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.ado5578
"A walnut #tree produces #flowers of one sex, then the other in the same season, but trees differ in which one comes first. Individual trees are consistently male-first or female-first in flowering."
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8-Jan-2025
A nearly gapless #genome sequence of the #echidna, an egg-laying mammal with multiple #sexChromosomes, helps researchers to track genomic reorganization events that gave rise to a highly unusual #sexDetermination system.
related to the system of the #platypus which was the cover story in my book "Der Kuss des Schnabeltiers" / "The birds, the bees, and the platypuses." 15 years later I can't remember how that worked but I loved the story.
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2-Jan-2025
Genetics of alternating sexes in #walnutshttps://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1069346 #science #plants #SexDetermination
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30-JUL-2024
#Platypus and chicken reveal how chromosomes balance between the sexeshttps://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1053015
#science #evolution #SexChromosomes #birds #SexDetermination #monotremes
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Researchers from @MPI_Bio uncover the unique #SexDetermination gene in #BrownAlgae. Their findings highlight the unexpected similarities between the #genetic toolkit across algae, plants & animals #Evolution #MarineBiology #ScientificBreakthrough
https://nachrichten.idw-online.de/2024/03/22/decoding-the-shared-genetic-toolkit-for-male-sex-determination -
Researchers from @MPI_Bio uncover the unique #SexDetermination gene in #BrownAlgae. Their findings highlight the unexpected similarities between the #genetic toolkit across algae, plants & animals #Evolution #MarineBiology #ScientificBreakthrough
https://nachrichten.idw-online.de/2024/03/22/decoding-the-shared-genetic-toolkit-for-male-sex-determination -
Beyond X and Y: #Fish have different methods of sex determination https://oceanbites.org/beyond-x-and-y-fish-have-different-methods-of-sex-determination/
Rapid turnover and #evolution of sex-determining regions in Sebastes #rockfishes https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/mec.17090
"Some fish even change sex partway through their adult life, based on size or age! Closely related species of fish often have different #SexChromosomes or lack clear sex #chromosomes altogether, indicating that #SexDetermination evolves quickly and is highly variable."
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Cryptic #sexChromosome was found after removing a master sex-determining #chromosome. This result suggests that #polygenic #sexDetermination system may be more prevalent than previously thought.
Open access article by Kitano et al. now available ahead of print!
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How and why temperatures determine the sex of turtles? https://phys.org/news/2023-06-temperatures-sex-turtles.html
Higher temperatures directly increase germ cell number, promoting feminization of #RedEaredSlider turtles https://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(23)00758-3
"Warmer temperatures make more #turtle eggs become female hatchlings... those females also have a higher capacity for egg production, even before their sex is set. This may explain why many #animals besides #turtles have temperature-dependent #SexDetermination"
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On the origin of patterns of temperature-dependent sex determination #Science #Evolution #SexDetermination #Reptile https://academic.oup.com/evolut/advance-article/doi/10.1093/evolut/qpad029/7045988
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Smaga, C. R., S. L. Bock, J. M. Johnson and B. B. Parrott (2022). "Sex Determination and Ovarian Development in Reptiles and Amphibians: From Genetic Pathways to Environmental Influences." Sexual Development. https://www.karger.com/DOI/10.1159/000526009
#ovarydevelopment
#sexdetermination
#reptiles #amphibians #environmentalsexdetermination -
Study identifies genomic region related to #SexDetermination of macroalga #Undaria pinnatifida https://phys.org/news/2022-12-genomic-region-sex-macroalga-undaria.html Paper: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jpy.13295 #algae #genomics
Undaria pinnatifida is an economically important brown macroalga. There are 3 sexual phenotypes: female, male, and monoicous. However, the sex-determining mechanisms was unknown.
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Novel #SexDetermination mechanism revealed in mammals
https://phys.org/news/2022-11-sex-determination-mechanism-revealed-mammals.htmlThe #AmamiSpinyRat is an endangered rodent found only on #Amami Oshima, #Japan. It is one of just 4 mammals known to lack a Y chromosome. In the Amami spiny rat, the the Sry gene is completely absent; thus, the animal has evolved a novel sex-determining mechanism independent of Sry.
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Can gender-bending Israeli superprawns help feed the world? - Enlarge / This is actually a male shrimp according to the image info, which we don't need for this.... more: https://arstechnica.com/?p=1670054 #sexdetermination #aquaculture #features #science #prawns #food