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posted by martyb on Thursday May 31 2018, @09:19AM   Printer-friendly
from the it's-out-of-this-world! dept.

Sex on Mars is going to be risky, but it could create a new human subspecies

In a new research paper published in Futures, an international team of scientists examines the challenges of reproduction on the Martian surface. It's a risky proposition, but if humans succeed in conceiving, carrying, and birthing offspring on another world it might actually be the start of a new species.

In the paper, the researchers tackle a huge number of potential problems that could crop up when humans are finally ready to rear young on Mars. The first and most obvious hurdle is the low gravity environment, which could pose a serious threat to the conception and pregnancy processes that seem so simple here on Earth.

[...] The paper also examines the inherent challenges of bolstering the numbers of a small colony of settlers on the planet. The concept of "love" might have to take a back seat to pure survival, with men and women being paired up by their biology rather than emotion. Additionally, some individuals may never be allowed to have children due to undesirable traits that are a risk to the colony as a whole.

In a somewhat scary aside, the researchers also note that editing the genes of future Mars babies might be an easy way to increase the prospects of survival.

Also at Live Science.

Biological and social challenges of human reproduction in a long-term Mars base (DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2018.04.006) (DX)

Related: Space colonization and suffering risks: Reassessing the "maxipok rule" (DOI: 10.1016/j.futures.2018.04.008) (DX)


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  • (Score: 2) by c0lo on Thursday May 31 2018, @09:42AM (4 children)

    by c0lo (156) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 31 2018, @09:42AM (#686648) Journal

    Apropos TFT(itle), isn't the humanity past the time sex and procreation were synonyms? Or at least the part of humanity likely to send specimens on Mars.

    The tl;dr: what a click bitey title we have for this one.

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  • (Score: 2) by MostCynical on Thursday May 31 2018, @11:06AM (2 children)

    by MostCynical (2589) on Thursday May 31 2018, @11:06AM (#686667) Journal

    Chances are, it will all be in test tubes, anyway (screening, viability, limited resources)
    Then, the mother will be chosen (healthiest, longest since last pregnancy, etc etc)

    The biological "parents" might never have sex

    (although, with a small group, maybe they will *alł* be getting it on, or, all-bar-one, who then hacks the rest to death in frustration.. nah, they'll probably all have a roster to prevent that!)

    --
    "I guess once you start doubting, there's no end to it." -Batou, Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex
    • (Score: 2) by julian on Thursday May 31 2018, @03:22PM (1 child)

      by julian (6003) Subscriber Badge on Thursday May 31 2018, @03:22PM (#686773)

      Sounds like Elon will have some monogamy to enforce!

      • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @08:01PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @08:01PM (#686902)

        The free market will sort it out.

  • (Score: 2) by Immerman on Friday June 01 2018, @06:00PM

    by Immerman (3985) on Friday June 01 2018, @06:00PM (#687359)

    Isn't sex technically the means of exchanging of genetic information? Without conception it's not sex, just intercourse.