RDFRS US:
The mission of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science is to support scientific education, critical thinking and evidence-based understanding of the natural world in the quest to overcome religious fundamentalism, superstition, intolerance and suffering.
The Magic of Reality
for the iPad
Sean Faircloth:
Attack of the Theocrats!
J. Anderson Thomson Jr. MD:
why we believe in god(s)
RSS Feeds
I wonder if sex is also a function of multicellularity, in that it is not practical to clone yourself after you pass a certain body size or complexity.
In other words:
budding is impractical after a point because the metabolic needs of the offspring, before it can survive on its own, exceed the practical capacity of the parent
binary fission is too complicated/difficult for a complex multicellular adult organism, and too risky (loss of half the resources, increased possibility of faulty replication of organs, organ function disruption as it duplicates, etc.)
vegetative reproduction has problems with dispersal of offspring and therefore competing for resources
So sex may have had some value in sharing the metabolic needs of the offspring between two different individuals, and reducing the risks involved in duplicating an adult organism.
I realize I'm probably stretching things, but I thought it was worth the discussion.
Permalink Thu, 31 May 2012 16:36:12 UTC | #944770