Parasites led to the evolution of sex
July 9, 2009 at 8:37 am by Shawn Alff
before parasites it was just a huge sausage-fest
I used to hate parasites, always trying to creep into my body and eat my food–freakin’ freeloading assholes who can’t find a real job. But a new study in The American Naturalist has made me reconsider parasites as evidence suggests that these invasive freeloaders may have spurred the evolution of sex.
Before our single celled ancestors learned to get their freak on, asexual reproduction was the preferred mode of reproduction (think masturbation, but instead of just making a mess at the end, an identical version of you pops out of your wang).
At first it may sound cool to be surrounded by millions of copies of yourself (you never fight over what to watch on TV or who is better looking), but this arrangement has serious problems.
Consider this. If you’re body is perceptible to a certain parasite or virus, Swine Flu for instance, when a strand of Swine Flu blows in, you and your millions of buddies are dead.
To combat this, evolution came up with sexual reproduction, or “squishing” as it was known to our single celled forefathers. This process took the DNA from two parent organisms, shuffled them up and picked genes at random like bingo numbers. As a result, our ancestors developed diverse populations. This time when parasites invaded a sexually reproducing population, the parasites only killed those members whose DNA didn’t provide adequate defenses.
…and that is where babies and racial tolerance come from: parasites.
For more scientific specifics to impress potential sexual partners with, check out the full story at scientificamerican.com
(click button for feed)
(follow us on Facebook)
(follow us on Twitter)