Like A Vigin

 

US wildlife researchers have discovered that two California condors, a critically endangered bird, gave birth without any male genetic DNA.

The discovery that condors are capable of virgin births - formally called parthenogenesis or asexual reproduction - surprised scientists.

The peer-reviewed findings from San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance were published this week in the American Genetic Association's Journal of Heredity.

The researchers describe how routine genetic screenings of captive birds led to the discovery that two male chicks hatched in 2001 and 2009 were related to their mothers and had not inherited DNA from any father bird.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59097703 

Science is all about finding surprises.


 

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