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Organism Survives 100 Million Years Without Sex

Posted by samzenpus on from the they-must-play-dungeons-and-dragons-too dept.

zyl0x writes "The Times has an interesting article online on the discovery of a 100-million-year-old micro-organism which has survived its entire lifespan without sex." From the article "A tiny creature that has not had sex for 100 million years has overturned the theory that animals need to mate to create variety. Analysis of the jaw shapes of bdelloid rotifers, combined with genetic data, revealed that the animals have diversified under pressure of natural selection. Researchers say that their study "refutes the idea that sex is necessary for diversification into evolutionary species".

18 of 343 comments (clear)

  1. Nothing to see here... by Veroxii · · Score: 5, Funny

    This happens on Slashdot all the time.

    Move along...

    1. Re:Nothing to see here... by dryekindrew · · Score: 5, Funny

      I wonder how low this organism's slashdot id is.

    2. Re:Nothing to see here... by dosquatch · · Score: 5, Funny

      My wife is eight months pregnant, so I can relate to this organism.

      Wait... you've gone a hundred million years without sex, and your wife is preggers?

      I'd stop trusting the UPS guy if I were you.

      --
      "Hey, the third matrix movie would have been good except for the plot,story, and acting." --AC
  2. Welcome to slashdot by Harmonious+Botch · · Score: 5, Funny

    It should be right at home here.

    1. Re:Welcome to slashdot by UncleTogie · · Score: 5, Funny

      The optimal situation is to get the sex and not have the girlfriend.
      I wouldn't call masturbation optimal...
      --
      Don't tell me to get a life. I'm a gamer; I have LOTS of lives!
    2. Re:Welcome to slashdot by Alioth · · Score: 5, Funny

      Sex is like bridge. You don't need a partner if you have a good hand.

      --
      Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
    3. Re:Welcome to slashdot by raddan · · Score: 5, Funny

      Redundant penis? Is that like a penis array? A Redundant Array of Inexpensive Penises? Wait... that doesn't sound right...

  3. Blue Balliticus by madhatter256 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Is that what you would name this micro-organism?

    --
    Previewing comments are for sissies!
  4. Is it only me... by bky1701 · · Score: 5, Funny

    ...who read this as a single organism living for 100 million years without having sex? First part said "wow", second part made me feel like I had been out-geeked...

    --
    Great Intellect...
  5. Nerd trifecta by Hal_Porter · · Score: 5, Funny

    Front page stories

    * Dungeons & Dragons and IT
    * Organism Survives 100 Million Years Without Sex
    * Gifted Children Find Heavy Metal Comforting

    Did anyone see suck's parody of slashdot?

    http://www.suck.com/daily/99/12/13/daily.html

    Doesn't seem so funny now, does it?

    --
    echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    1. Re:Nerd trifecta by Deathbane27 · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's not a very good parody of Slashdot. There's no dupe on the front page!

      --
      If it ain't broke, it needs more features!
  6. About the title... by oOo+Shiva+oOo · · Score: 5, Funny

    I would have found "Organism Survives Without Orgasm" at least a hundred times more entertaining :)

    1. Re:About the title... by pipatron · · Score: 5, Funny

      would it help if I mentioned that I'm a girl?

      Well, then we would at least know for sure you're lying.

      --
      c++; /* this makes c bigger but returns the old value */
  7. Indeed by Goldberg's+Pants · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds a lot like my marriage...

  8. Living Louse by malia8888 · · Score: 5, Funny

    Two sister species were found to be living together on the body of a water louse. One of them specialised in living around the louse's legs and the other stayed close to the chest. And I thought I had a crappy dorm room.

    --
    Harpo Tunnel Syndrome--my wrist feels funny.
  9. Re:Yeah... by rhyder128k · · Score: 5, Funny

    Females that haven't had sex in millions of years. I moving there. I could get laid.

    --
    Michael Reed, freelance tech writer.
  10. Re:Yeah... by theshowmecanuck · · Score: 5, Funny

    That's not what your girlfriend says. :-D

    --
    -- I ignore anonymous replies to my comments and postings.
  11. Bio Class Mistake by zpeterz63 · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's a bad idea to read "organism" as "orgasm" when you're reading out loud for a class.