Stories
Slash Boxes
Comments

SoylentNews is people

posted by chromas on Tuesday August 04 2020, @03:50AM   Printer-friendly
from the government-grants-needed-for-further-study dept.

Evolution turned this fish into a 'penis with a heart.' Here's how.

When it comes to dating in the abyssal depths of the ocean, appearance doesn't matter much. That's fortunate for anglerfish, which resemble nightmarish fanged potatoes with a little reading lamp on top. And those are just the females.

If you've never seen a male anglerfish before, you're not missing much. Measuring just a few centimeters long on average, male anglers are a mere fraction of their partners' size, and contribute a fraction of the work to their relationships. For many anglerfish species, the male's sole responsibility is to permanently latch onto an obliging mate, fuse his circulatory system with hers, then slowly allow his eyes, fins and most of his internal organs to degenerate until he becomes what biologist Stephen Jay Gould called "a penis with a heart." The male gets constant nourishment; the female gets sperm on demand. The anglerfish circle of life spins on.

It's beautiful, we know. But this unique mating ritual — which biologists call "sexual parasitism" — has long stumped researchers. How could the female angler's immune system even allow such a permanent, parasitic union to occur?

It's a good thing humans are more evolved and don't have this style of courtship and lifetime commitment.

Journal Reference:
Jeremy B. Swann, Stephen J. Holland, Malte Petersen, et al. The immunogenetics of sexual parasitism [$], Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz9445)


Original Submission

 
This discussion has been archived. No new comments can be posted.
Display Options Threshold/Breakthrough Mark All as Read Mark All as Unread
The Fine Print: The following comments are owned by whoever posted them. We are not responsible for them in any way.
  • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by Bot on Tuesday August 04 2020, @08:20AM (5 children)

    by Bot (3902) on Tuesday August 04 2020, @08:20AM (#1031168) Journal

    this seems the right thread to post the lyrics of Depeche Mode "It's called a heart" with just a word substitution.

    There's something beating here inside my body
    And it's called a dick
    You know how easy it is to tear it apart
    If I lend it to you, would you keep it safe for me
    I'll lend it to you, will you treat it tenderly
    There's something beating here inside my body
    And it's called a dick

    There's a sun shining in the sky
    But that's not the reason why I'm feeling warm inside
    The answer isn't classified- it's my dick
    From the moment I started
    I tried to be good about it
    Yes I've tried my best
    And more or less, I spoke from my dick

    There's a lot to be learned
    And you learn when your dick gets burned

    There's something beating here inside my body
    And it's called a dick
    You know how easy it is to tear it apart
    If I lend it to you, would you keep it safe for me
    I'll lend it to you, will you treat it tenderly
    There's something beating here inside my body
    And it's called a dick

    dicks can never be owned
    dicks only come on loan
    If I want it back
    I will take it back
    I'll take my dick

    But I will try my best
    And more or less
    I will speak from my dick
    Yes, I will speak from my dick
    Speak from my dick

    There's a lot to be learned
    And you learn when your dick gets burned

    There's something beating here inside my body
    And it's called a dick
    You know how easy it is to tear it apart
    If I lend it to you, would you keep it safe for me
    I'll lend it to you, will you treat it tenderly
    There's something beating here inside my body
    And it's called a dick

    --
    Account abandoned.
    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   -1  
       Offtopic=1, Total=1
    Extra 'Offtopic' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   1  
  • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by Bot on Tuesday August 04 2020, @08:24AM (2 children)

    by Bot (3902) on Tuesday August 04 2020, @08:24AM (#1031169) Journal

    And the more mainstream and obvious eponymous hit from Yes

    Move yourself
    You always live your life
    Never thinking of the futureMove yourself
    You always live your life
    Never thinking of the future
    Prove yourself
    You are the move you make
    Take your chances, win or loser
    See yourself
    You are the steps you take
    You and you, and that's the only way
    Shake, shake yourself
    You're every move you make
    So the story goes

    Owner of a lonely heart
    Owner of a lonely heart
    (Much better than a)
    Owner of a broken heart
    Owner of a lonely heart

    Say, you don't want to chance it
    You've been hurt so before
    Watch it now
    The eagle in the sky
    How he dancin' one and only
    You, lose yourself
    No not for pity's sake
    There's no real reason to be lonely
    Be yourself
    Give your free will a chance
    You've got to want to succeed

    Owner of a lonely heart
    Owner of a lonely heart
    (Much better than a)
    Owner of a broken heart
    Owner of a lonely heart

    Owner of a lonely heart

    After my own indecision
    They confused me so
    Owner of a lonely heart
    My love said never question your will at all
    In the end you've got to go
    Look before you leap
    Owner of a lonely heart
    And don't you hesitate at all, no no
    Yow!

    Owner of a lonely heart
    Owner of a lonely heart
    (Much better than a)
    Owner of a broken heart
    Owner of a lonely heart

    Owner of a lonely heart
    Owner of a lonely heart
    (Much better than a)
    Owner of a broken heart
    Owner of a lonely heart

    Owner of a lonely heart

    Sooner or later each conclusion
    Will decide the lonely heart
    Owner of a lonely heart
    It will excite, it will delight
    It will give a better start
    Owner of a lonely heart

    Don't deceive your free will at all
    Don't deceive your free will at all
    Owner of a lonely heart
    Don't deceive your free will at all
    Just receive it
    Just receive it
    (Owner of a lonely heart)
    Prove yourself
    You are the move you make
    Take your chances, win or loser
    See yourself
    You are the steps you take
    You and you, and that's the only way
    Shake, shake yourself
    You're every move you make
    So the story goes

    Owner of a lonely dick
    Owner of a lonely dick
    (Much better than a)
    Owner of a broken dick
    Owner of a lonely dick

    Say, you don't want to chance it
    You've been hurt so before
    Watch it now
    The eagle in the sky
    How he dancin' one and only
    You, lose yourself
    No not for pity's sake
    There's no real reason to be lonely
    Be yourself
    Give your free will a chance
    You've got to want to succeed

    Owner of a lonely dick
    Owner of a lonely dick
    (Much better than a)
    Owner of a broken dick
    Owner of a lonely dick

    Owner of a lonely dick

    After my own indecision
    They confused me so
    Owner of a lonely dick
    My love said never question your will at all
    In the end you've got to go
    Look before you leap
    Owner of a lonely dick
    And don't you hesitate at all, no no
    Yow!

    Owner of a lonely dick
    Owner of a lonely dick
    (Much better than a)
    Owner of a broken dick
    Owner of a lonely dick

    Owner of a lonely dick
    Owner of a lonely dick
    (Much better than a)
    Owner of a broken dick
    Owner of a lonely dick

    Owner of a lonely dick

    Sooner or later each conclusion
    Will decide the lonely dick
    Owner of a lonely dick
    It will excite, it will delight
    It will give a better start
    Owner of a lonely dick

    Don't deceive your free will at all
    Don't deceive your free will at all
    Owner of a lonely dick
    Don't deceive your free will at all
    Just receive it
    Just receive it
    (Owner of a lonely dick)

    --
    Account abandoned.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @08:47PM (1 child)

      by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 04 2020, @08:47PM (#1031399)

      How is it "eponymous" if "Yes" is not in the song title?

      Most awesome band ever, by the way.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @08:18AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday August 05 2020, @08:18AM (#1031618)

        I meant, the song gave notoriety to the group, ofc I mean mainstream exposure, so I used the term quite metaphorically.

  • (Score: 2) by FatPhil on Tuesday August 04 2020, @05:20PM (1 child)

    by FatPhil (863) <pc-soylentNO@SPAMasdf.fi> on Tuesday August 04 2020, @05:20PM (#1031299) Homepage
    You're a fucking poet, mate!

    Looking forward to other classics such as:
    Achey-breaky Dick
    Dickbreak Hotel
    Don't Go Breaking My Dick
    ...
    --
    Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people; the smallest discuss themselves
    • (Score: 2) by Bot on Tuesday August 04 2020, @09:52PM

      by Bot (3902) on Tuesday August 04 2020, @09:52PM (#1031434) Journal

      I was thinking about less mainstream stuff, we're here to improve the culture of millennials else they will repeat the mistakes of the 68

      What about billy idol

      I'm all out of hope
      One more bad break
      Could bring a fall

      When I'm far from home
      Don't call me on the phone
      To tell me you're alone

      It's easy to deceive
      It's easy to tease
      But hard to get release

      dicks without a face
      (Les dix sans visage)
      dicks without a face
      (Les dix sans visage)
      dicks without a face
      Got no human grace
      You're dicks without a face

      I spend so much time
      Believing all the lies
      To keep the dream alive

      Now it makes me sad
      It makes me mad at truth
      For loving what was you

      dicks without a face
      (Les dix sans visage)
      dicks without a face
      (Les dix sans visage)
      dicks without a face
      Got no human grace
      You're dicks without a face (face, face, face)

      When you hear the music, you make a dip
      Into someone else's pocket then make a slip
      You teal a car and go to Las Vegas
      Ooh, gigolo cool

      Hanging out by the state line
      Turning holy water into wine
      Drinkin' it down, oh, oh-oh, ow

      I'm on a bus on a psychedelic trip
      Reading murder books, tryin' to stay hip
      I'm thinkin' of you, you're out there, so
      Say your prayers
      Say your prayers
      Say your prayers (oh)

      Now I close my dicks
      And I wonder why
      I don't despise

      Now all I can do
      Love what was once
      So alive in you
      But it's gone from your dicks
      I better realize

      dicks without a face
      (Les dix sans visage)
      dicks without a face
      (Les dix sans visage)
      dicks without a face
      Got no human grace
      You're dicks without a face

      Such a human waste
      You're dicks without a face (face, face, face)

      And now it's getting worse

      --
      Account abandoned.