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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: 5, Funny) by realDonaldTrump on Thursday May 31 2018, @11:52AM (4 children)

    by realDonaldTrump (6614) on Thursday May 31 2018, @11:52AM (#686681) Homepage Journal

    Let me tell you, they had a lot of the same problems in Norway. Not enough children being made. For many reasons. So many children had bad genes. Not healthy, folks. And so many kids had great genes but they weren't raised properly. Big waste. So they started a very special program, they called it the Lebensborn society. They found some great mothers -- best genes in Norway. And the fathers came from Germany. No marriage. So no divorce, obviously no divorce. That's a big money saver for the guys, big savings, believe me. Every mother had sex with many fathers. And every father did it with many mothers. And the babies were raised in great foster homes. They separated making children from raising them. So the folks with the best genes could make A LOT of children -- and have so much fun doing it. They needed a lot of children because of the war but it was more than that. They were trying to make a new kind of person, you can call it a new species. They called it supermen. But incredible women too. And the Mars study says, let's make a new species for Mars.

    And it worked amazingly well. Until the Norwegian government canceled it because it wasn't politically correct. They canceled it and the beautiful children got bullied, they suffered a lot. And their Country suffered a lot. And the government tried to send the Lebensborn kids away. To Brazil, to many places. Trust me, a lot wanted to leave, and the government wanted them out too. Their best people, treated very unfairly. And we have so many people trying to get out of Norway. And we're telling them "no." I'd love to tell them "yes," I'd love to have more people coming in from places like Norway. Our immigration laws are a DISASTER. Chuck & Nancy, Cryin' Chuck and MS-13 loving Nancy, they really did a number on us.

    The Mars study, by the way, it's by folks from Brazil, I think they know about this. And Poland, they did the Lebensborn program, I think they know. And they're saying, let's have the Lebensborn society on Mars.

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  • (Score: 1, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @12:45PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @12:45PM (#686701)
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @06:06PM (2 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday May 31 2018, @06:06PM (#686854)

    I don't like you, and if you got hit by a bus and never return, I wouldn't miss you. When you post your usual offtopic troll drivel or outright spam, I log in and mod you down, with a strong wish for you to disappear along with the other current spam troller (the `mens rights' one).

    But this post "Very smart ideas that worked amazingly in Europe" is the best, most on-point comment in this entire discussion thread, and earlier, I modded you up accordingly. Well done.

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Azuma Hazuki on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:13PM (1 child)

      by Azuma Hazuki (5086) on Thursday May 31 2018, @07:13PM (#686874) Journal

      Yeah, he's upping his game...I was wondering how many people would spot that one :) Almost made me cat /dev/mug/tea | /home/hazuki/nose > /mnt/desktop there for a moment, LOL.

      --
      I am "that girl" your mother warned you about...
      • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Gaaark on Thursday May 31 2018, @11:44PM

        by Gaaark (41) on Thursday May 31 2018, @11:44PM (#686991) Journal

        "..I was wondering how many people would spot that one "

        Made me laugh: if you've ever watched , Dad's Army, you'll see why (unless you're a STUPID BOY!). :)
        (Fits in well with the Nazi subject matter)

        "cat /dev/mug/tea | /home/hazuki/nose > /mnt/desktop"
        I thought that happened when he got elected!

        "WHO was elected President????" Splooge of tea/milk/beer/what have you...

        --
        --- Please remind me if I haven't been civil to you: I'm channeling MDC. ---Gaaark 2.0 ---