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-Short Attention Span Theater- | |||
It's official: too much sex saps male brains | |||
2005-12-08 | |||
MALE animals can produce a lot of sperm or grow big brains but cannot do both, according to a study that may confirm the suspicions of many women. The study of 334 bat species suggests that energy-hungry brains can evolve only at the expense of other tissues. Writing in Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, Scott Pitnick, of Syracuse University, New York, reported that species with promiscuous females had evolved extra large testicles but smaller brains. "The general rule that is emerging is that sperm production can be incredibly costly," said Dr Pitnick, who first found the relationship in insects. Male fruit flies, for example, can make sperm 7.5 centimetres long. "This led me to examine bats, as sperm competition is rife, and so testes can be ridiculously large," he said.
The most interesting implications of the study are for the co-ordinated evolution of brains, behaviour and extravagant sexually selected traits: ornaments such as the peacock's tail and armaments such as antlers. Dr Pitnick said: "The road to sexual success can lie in being clever, in being a dull yet well-armed brute that can fight for paternity, in being spectacularly ornamented, or in providing a rich cocktail of seminal fluids and costly sperm." Dr Pitnick carried out the study with Kate Jones, of the London Zoological Society, and Jerry Wilkinson, of the University of Maryland
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Posted by:john |
#14 All things in moderation, including moderation. Re: male fruitfly sperm are 7.5 cm long. Holy Smoke! Is Mother Nature creating a vehicle for reproduction or a plumber's snake for cleaning out a stuck trap? |
Posted by: Alaska Paul 2005-12-08 21:37 |
#13 Al Bundy: "And as we all know, affection is just a hammerlock away from sex!" |
Posted by: badanov 2005-12-08 18:12 |
#12 Sounds like Doc Pitnick needs a girlfriend... |
Posted by: tu3031 2005-12-08 11:22 |
#11 So when we call someone a chimp we're really saying he has big balls? |
Posted by: DoDo 2005-12-08 10:31 |
#10 No wonder my ex was always yelling I think with my little head to much. |
Posted by: raptor 2005-12-08 10:27 |
#9 Well, that explains the skank/ignorance ratio in today's kids. |
Posted by: BH 2005-12-08 10:12 |
#8 what? |
Posted by: Frank G 2005-12-08 09:28 |
#7 reported that species with promiscuous females had evolved extra large testicles but smaller brains. This should mena I am a genius. |
Posted by: Besoeker 2005-12-08 08:38 |
#6 willy clintinytoon might know phil_b |
Posted by: Chemp Elmolulet1861 2005-12-08 07:53 |
#5 "The general rule that is emerging is that sperm production can be incredibly costly," Anybody with kids already knows that. |
Posted by: Darrell 2005-12-08 07:20 |
#4 Mmm! The important relationship is with female promicuity and not brain size. If you take Humans, gorillas and chimpanzees, the testicle size relative to body mass is Chimpanzees largest, humans second and Gorillas smallest, which is the order of how promiscuous the females are. |
Posted by: phil_b 2005-12-08 06:07 |
#3 Gawd no wonder. |
Posted by: Mustard Seeds 2005-12-08 04:47 |
#2 God looked upon Adam and said with great sorrow, "The bad news is that when I created you, I only gave you enough blood to operate one of these organs at a time." And they both lived happily ever after. |
Posted by: badanov 2005-12-08 03:46 |
#1 One day God came to Adam to pass on some news. "I've got some good news and some bad news", God said. Adam looked at God and said, "Well, give me the good news first." Smiling, God explained, "I've got two new organs for you. One is called a brain. It will allow you to be very intelligent, create new things, and have intelligent conversations with Eve. The other organ I have for you is called a penis. It will allow you to reproduce your now intelligent life form and populate this planet." Adam, very excited, exclaimed, "These are great gifts you have given to me. What could possibly be bad news after such great tidings?" God looked upon Adam and said with great sorrow, "The bad news is that when I created you, I only gave you enough blood to operate one of these organs at a time." /ancient joke |
Posted by: .com 2005-12-08 00:18 |