sexless society

[AntonioLao]

Physical evidence of human hermaphroditism could indicate that we are slowly evolving toward the same biological mutation. http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...ed=0CB4QsAQwAw

[labelwench]

Physical evidence of human hermaphroditism could indicate that we are slowly evolving toward the same biological mutation.

Under most circumstances, we have as much control over choosing our culture as we do over choosing our sex. Therefore, I am hesitant to criticize anyone too harshly on this issue. Our culture demands that we categorize individuals, and when male and female do not seem to apply well, we fall back on the term Hermaphrodite, and that term is about as culturally useful, and potentially hurtful, as any other. But: I will state clearly, as a biologist, that a true hermaphrodite cannot happen in humans. The person you are looking at is either male or female, possibly neither -- but never both.


http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives...4825.Dv.r.html

http://8e.devbio.com/article.php?id=266

My Godmother, now deceased, was born with evidence of both sexes, and was surgically determined to be female. This choice, made on her behalf, was perhaps not in her best interests, as she felt herself to be 'male', and had a tragic life in trying to reconcile her sense of who she was, with who society determined she should be.

[AntonioLao]

A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse but what I dont understand why mules are sexually sterile?

[labelwench]

A mule is the offspring of a male donkey and a female horse but what I dont understand why mules are sexually sterile?

In the crossbreeding of two species, each with a different number of chromosomes, it is believed that the resulting offspring has an uneven number of chromosomes, which is why, in most, but not all cases, the result is sterile, even though eggs and sperm are viable.

The sterility of a mule is accredited to the difference in the number of chromosomes that a donkey and a horse possess. That is, while horses have 64 chromosomes, donkey's posses just 62. The mule, their offspring as a result have 63 chromosomes and these cannot evenly divide. However it is important to note that there are exceptions to the rule and there have been documented cases where female mules have succeeded in producing offspring after they were mated to either a purebred horse or ass.

The collective noun for mules is a barren of mules. They are also often called a rake of mules.

It is interesting to note that, in general, mules are thought to be more intelligent than horses and donkeys.

So why are mules sterile?

That’s pretty complicated and to be quite honest we still don’t know the whole story. The basic problem is that after the ancestors of donkeys and horses split the chromosomes of BOTH species fused and then those fused chromosomes re-split. That has led to a situation where the information originally carried on a single chromosome in the ancestral species is now found on 2 different chromosomes in mules and 2 totally unrelated chromosomes in horses.

Normally a developing foal embryo would receive two copies of each piece of genetic information: one from the mother and one from the father. In the case of a mule foal it receives a random number of copies. It will receive three copies of some pieces of information: 2 from the mule parent and one from the horse/donkey parent, or it will receive only a single copy from the horse/donkey parent.

Because of that mismatch of genetic material the embryo has a hard time developing. Some traits it will lack sufficient information for since it has only half the required genetic information, while other traits will be overdeveloped because there are 3 or more genes where there should be only two. All mules will get pregnant if mated, but the embryo develops for just a few days and then dies because it lacks the correct genetic instruction to develop further.

As for why some mules, maybe one in a thousand, are fertile, nobody is quite sure.

[AntonioLao]

Your unmatched knowledge and expertise made me want to go back to school and learn more. But I think the truth about the progress of modern science seems to require cross disciplines. Such that there are now applied fields like biochemistry and biophysics as crossings between biology and the other sciences. Nevertheless, my limited knowledge only allow me, whenever confronted by certain problems, to ask the question: Where is the physics in that? Or, how can we explain it using physics? IMHO, physics is much simpler than any other scientific discipline. Moreover, the applications of the findings of theoretical physics usually took a long time coming. My theoretical research lies in the practical application of cold fusion whose working principle still does not exist as we speak.

[labelwench]

Your unmatched knowledge and expertise made me want to go back to school and learn more. But I think the truth about the progress of modern science seems to require cross disciplines. Such that there are now applied fields like biochemistry and biophysics as crossings between biology and the other sciences. Nevertheless, my limited knowledge only allow me, whenever confronted by certain problems, to ask the question: Where is the physics in that? Or, how can we explain it using physics? IMHO, physics is much simpler than any other scientific discipline. Moreover, the applications of the findings of theoretical physics usually took a long time coming. My theoretical research lies in the practical application of cold fusion whose working principle still does not exist as we speak.

Thank you for your kind remarks, but the truth may be that life has offered me a broad range of experiences that have encouraged me to be observant, and todays technology allows me to do rapid research predicated by this varied background.

Cold fusion is only a concept to me, although I can certainly extrapolate it's value as a source of renewable energy, if,in fact, it can be achieved.

From my own observations, there is another thought that my mind is attempting to track down and examine.

Photosynthesis. I think we are missing something there, just not quite certain what that might be. Carrots, as example, have few requirements beyond water and sunshine to produce very nutritious roots. By what exact means do they capture and store this energy? Do we understand it sufficiently to duplicate the process? During our extended hours of daylight in the summer, we are nearly a 24/7 society during the months of June and July. People are literally 'solar-powered', and not just the young'uns, lol......

Certainly, I understand that cold and darkness will require more energy to circumvent, that is quite simple math.

My point being, that all who come north to experience 'the land of the midnight sun' remark upon this amazing phenomena of feeling tireless and barely needing to sleep. Perhaps humans also engage in photosynthesis of sorts, more than we have studied. We do manufacture vitamin D through the exposure of our skin to sun, although over-exposure can also lead to skin cancer.

There's energy everywhere.....we just don't quite recognize it in all it's forms yet.

And that's why we need people like yourself, Antonio, and all of those who examine these things from the conceptual and the applied sciences. I am but a scout, in love with exploration, but I would soon become dispirited if I had to choose but one discipline when there is so much to see. Even if I cannot fathom most of it, it is still wondrous to behold and contemplate.

If I had to choose just one, I would choose for diversity, and that is why I enjoy the exploration of psychology.

In exploring the many, we are all one. In exploring any one, you will find the many contained therein.

[austintorn@aol.com]

SEXUAL ORIENTATION EXPLAINED

All embryos begin as female.
If it’s to be a male
Then it needs to be masculinized
In both the body and the brain;
But, sometimes,
Only one or the other happens.

A MaleBrain with a MaleBody forms a hetero male;
A MaleBody with a FemaleBrain forms gay male;
A FemaleBrain with a FemaleBody forms a hetero female;
A FemaleBody with a MaleBrain forms a lesbian female.

Oppositional mixing of MaleBody with a FemaleBody forms a hermaphrodite;
Oppositional mixing of MaleBrain with a FemaleBrain forms a bisexual.


The Church once thought that physical ills
Came from evil spirits,
But they were of bacteria and viruses;
And even now that mental ills (sins) come from evil spirits;
However, they come from brain imbalances;
And now this, the cause of sexual orientation revealed!

[AntonioLao]

a broad range of experiences that have encouraged me to be observant

The idea of airplane came from the first observation of birds. But the idea of a quantum theory of space-time came to me from the duality of nature: male and female, yin and yang, positive and negative, north and south, east and west, mind and matter, form and content, good and evil, human and divine, etc.

[labelwench]

The idea of airplane came from the first observation of birds. But the idea of a quantum theory of space-time came to me from the duality of nature: male and female, yin and yang, positive and negative, north and south, east and west, mind and matter, form and content, good and evil, human and divine, etc.

Interesting. I'm chuckling to myself, as a long ways back, on another thread, I laid into Greg for attempting to pigeonhole me on his perception of my position on the topic under discussion. Every day brings new data, therefore I have no particular position on most subjects. That is not the same as concluding that I have no thoughts or opinions on many topics, merely that in the absence of 'proof', I entertain all possibilities.

The majority of people that I encounter are too busy trying to make ends meet for me to consider chatting them up on 'the duality of nature'. Such is the beauty of this forum, that regardless of my crazy schedule, or the topic that has my attention at the time, there either exists a thread, or I may create one, and lay my thoughts down, knowing, that in time, one or several shall stop by and tease out any discussion points of value.

I acknowledge all of the dualities that you have named as example, with the thought that the duality is required for unity, for balance, as either one alone has little value. Were we to experience only happiness, and never sadness, we would have no means by which to appreciate the value of said state. Without the backdrop of the whole range of emotion, happiness would be meaningless. Maybe that's the phrase I am seeking.

Meaning comes from the balancing of dualities......hmmmmmm, it needs work, but I am very tired, having just worked 12 hours, so I will come back to this thought. Greatly enjoying our exchanges on various threads and topics, Antonio, and I appreciate your effort in giving me things to work up from, as your level of Mathematics and Physics is still elusive to my frames of reference.

With horses, we always approach on the arc, as direct is seen to be threatening. By such indirect approach the paths shall eventually lead around all topics.

So, you have a personal idea of a quantum theory of space time that relates to other subjects that are not entirely unknown to me. Please continue.....

[AntonioLao]

you have a personal idea of a quantum theory of space time that relates to other subjects that are not entirely unknown

This idea is related to the topology of two dimensional Mobius surfaces. In three dimensions it is that of the Klein bottle. In one dimension it is that of the Hopf link. This one dimensional Hopf link can describe double orthogonal rotations using the algebra of Hadamard matrices. http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...ed=0CB4QsAQwAw