Gender bending: baby turtles influence their own sex
Chinese-Australian research finds climate change good news, and solves an evolutionary mystery
Image credit: Wikimedia Commons
Baby turtles influence their gender by moving around inside their eggs, research has revealed.
The idea that an embryo reptile can act in a way that affects its chances of developing as male or female has long been thought impossible, but findings by scientists from China and Australia have now provided clear proof of the process.
The research, published in the journal Current Biology, solves a long-standing evolutionary mystery – and offers hope that at least some species thought especially vulnerable to effects of climate change will prove more robust than thought.
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