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Charlotte, a rust-colored stingray the size of a serving platter, has spent much of her life gliding around the confines of a storefront aquarium in North Carolina's Appalachian Mountains. And she hasn't shared a tank of water with a male of her species in at least eight years. Let's have some pups!” said Brenda Ramer, executive director of the Aquarium and Shark Lab on Main Street in downtown Hendersonville. There’s no way,” Ramer said. Southern California lifeguards encourage people to do the so-called stingray shuffle as they wade through the water, in large part because of round stingrays.

Persons: Charlotte, hasn't, ’, ”, Brenda Ramer, Kady Lyons, Lyons, “ I’m, ” Lyons, “, ” Ramer, ” Charlotte, Ramer, that's, “ I'm, “ It’s Organizations: California condors, Georgia Aquarium Locations: California, Hendersonville, Atlanta, North Carolina, Charlotte, Mexico, Southern California

☆ A lone stingray mysteriously became pregnant in an aquarium. Scientists now think a male shark could be responsible.
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-11 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A stingray in a North Carolina aquarium became pregnant without a male in the tank. Scientists believe that a male shark could be the father. AdvertisementStaff at an aquarium in North Carolina were left confused after a stingray became pregnant despite there not being a male in her tank. Scientists have a few theories about how this might have happened — and one involves a male shark. The Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team Ecco in Hendersonville was initially concerned that the stingray had cancer when she began to swell.

Persons: —, April Smith, ” Smith, Smith Organizations: Service, Staff, Lab, Ecco Locations: North Carolina, Hendersonville

☆ A shark pup that can 'walk' and was asexually conceived was just born at a Chicago-area zoo
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-11 | by ( Sebastian Cahill | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Chicago-area zoo recently welcomed a new epaulette shark pup. AdvertisementAdvertisementA new shark pup is always cause for celebration at the Brookfield Zoo, but the birth of an epaulette shark has zookeepers especially excited due to its unusual conception. Epaulette sharks, which can reach up to 3 feet long at maturity, are easily identified by the large spots behind their pectoral fins. The birth of the pup in Brookfield marks the second known asexual birth of an epaulette shark in an accredited zoo or aquarium, per the release. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe pup at the zoo, housed in the Living Coast habitat, continues to thrive, per the release.

Persons: —, they're, Kevin Feldheim, Feldheim, Mike Masellis Organizations: Service, Brookfield Zoo, New, Deutsche Welle, Aquarium Locations: Chicago, Brookfield, German

☆ Newly discovered ancient creature may have been the heaviest animal ever
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Ashley Strickland | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

This week, scientists shared discoveries of ancient species that lived and died tens of millions of years ago, providing tantalizing insights into creatures never documented until now. The colossal ancient whale, which swam the seas about 39 million years ago, likely weighed two to three times more than the blue whale. NASA/ESA/Joseph Olmsted (STScI)When the Hubble Space Telescope initially observed a young planetary system 32 light-years from Earth, it didn’t reveal any surprises. And the James Webb Space Telescope spied new details within the colorful, iconic Ring Nebula. The fruit flies in the groundbreaking study don’t typically reproduce through virgin births, also called parthenogenesis, although many animal species do.

Persons: Alberto Gennari, Michael Brecht, ” Brecht, Joseph Olmsted, Euclid, James Webb, —, Hala Alarashi, Alice Burkhardt, Ba, Emperor Nero, Ashley Strickland, Katie Hunt Organizations: CNN, Canadian Rockies, Humboldt University, NASA, ESA, Hubble, Telescope, Petra Museum, CNN Space, Science Locations: Ica, Berlin, Jordan, East Coast, United States

☆ Scientists induce virgin birth in fruit flies in monumental first
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-03 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —In a historic first, scientists have used gene editing to induce virgin birth in fruit flies, a major step in unlocking the mysteries of the intriguing phenomenon known as parthenogenesis. The researchers used fruit flies because they’re considered “model organisms,” meaning the flies are among a list of organisms that scientists have long studied in depth to gain a better fundamental understanding of biology. Fruit flies’ short life spans of about 80 days have made it easy to observe changes throughout generations relatively quickly. And prior research into fruit flies is so extensive it’s possible to order genetic mutations for some flies online. “There’s just so many tools,” Sperling said, “and the tools are easily, cheaply available to all researchers” when it comes to fruit flies.

Persons: Alexis Sperling, Sperling, ” Sperling, “, we’d, they’re, “ There’s, ”, aren’t, Dr, Warren Booth, Booth, ” Booth, parthenogenesis Organizations: CNN, UK’s University of Cambridge, Pesticides, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, State University Locations: United Kingdom

☆ Scientists have revived 'zombie' bugs and viruses before that were trapped in ancient ice. One may have been 8 million years old.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Marianne Guenot | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Scientists have previously revived ancient bacteria and prehistoric viruses that had been trapped. Scientists have a long record of resurrecting prehistoric viruses and ancient bacteria frozen in ice. However, as the climate crisis is melting ancient ice sheets worldwide, experts are growing concerned that prehistoric viruses could pose a risk to humanity. Other research has found 28 prehistoric viruses dating back 15,000 years in frozen ice cores. It's very difficult to keep samples pristine when extracting ancient ice, and even more difficult to conclusively date the ice.

Persons: Lonnie Thompson, Jean, Michel Claverie, it's, Birgitta Evengård, It's, hadn't Organizations: Service, Privacy, The Ohio State University, Byrd, Climate Research, Umea University, CNN Locations: Yao, Tibetan, French, Antarctica, Russia

☆ Scientists say they have induced 'virgin births' in fruit flies for the first time by switching on the right genes
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-29 | by ( Marta Biino | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A group of researchers was able to successfully engineer "virgin birth" in fruit flies. "I couldn't believe it," Sperling told the Washington Post. A backup for isolated femalesThe experiment was conducted on fruit flies because they are model organisms, or simple non-human species that are usually studied to better understand biology. "Fruit flies are incredibly special because they are basically the first model organism and have been studied for over 100 years," Sperling told the Post. Virgin births could help certain species and act as a "backup" for isolated females, according to The Guardian.

Persons: Alexis Sperling, Sperling, Hannah Maude, Nature Organizations: Service, Privacy, University of Cambridge, Washington Post, Imperial College London, Times, Guardian Locations: Wall, Silicon, parthenogenesis

☆ A 46,000-year-old worm found in Siberian permafrost was brought back to life, and started having babies
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-28 | by ( Rebecca Cohen | Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Scientists revived a 46,000-year-old worm that was living in Siberian permafrost. When they brought it back to life, the worm started having babies. When they revived it, the worm started having babies via a process called parthenogenesis, which doesn't require a mate. According to a press release, the worm spent thousands of years in a type of dormancy called cryptobiosis. This new species, however, called Panagrolaimus kolymaensis, was dormant for tens of thousands of years longer.

Persons: Plectus, Holly Bik, William Crow, Crow Organizations: Service, Privacy, Scientists, Washington Post, University of Hawaiʻi, PLOS Genetics, University of Florida Locations: Wall, Silicon, Mānoa, tundras

☆ Scientists discover the first virgin birth in a crocodile
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Scientists say they have documented the first virgin birth in a crocodile. Many of the offspring produced this way are very ill or weak, according to Booth. Any offspring produced in this manner shares most of its DNA with the mother. And Coquita’s parthenogenically produced offspring — which was female — likely formed that way solely because of the temperature at which the egg was incubated. “They are all using the exact same cellular mechanism for parthenogenesis,” Booth said.

Persons: Coquita, Warren Booth, Booth —, Booth, Parthenogenesis, it’s, ”, “, ” Booth, parthenogenesis, parthenogenically Organizations: CNN —, Reptilandia, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, State University, Research Locations: Costa Rican, Costa Rica, parthenogenesis

MEXICO CITY, June 7 (Reuters) - Scientists have documented the first-known instance of a "virgin birth" by a crocodile, which had been living in isolation for 16 years at Costa Rican zoo, according to a study published Wednesday. According to the study published in the journal Biology Letters, scientists tested the crocodile fetus' genetic makeup. The phenomenon of FP, which some scientists have referred to by the shorthand of "virgin birth," has also been documented in other species of fish, birds, lizards and snakes. In FP, a female's egg cell can develop into a baby without being fertilized by a male's sperm cell. The scientists said the Costa Rica "virgin birth" could lead to new information about crocodile ancestors that walked the earth in the Triassic Period some 250 million years ago.

Persons: Pterosauria, Cassandra Garrison, David Gregorio Our Organizations: MEXICO CITY, Costa, Thomson Locations: MEXICO, Costa Rican, Costa Rica

☆ A crocodile makes history with the first-ever virgin birth of its species, researchers say. But none of the 14 eggs hatched much to scientists' disappointment.
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Kelly Mclaughlin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Researchers said the 18-year-old crocodile who lived alone laid 14 eggs. DNA from the fetus and the 18-year-old crocodile matched, researchers said, adding that the fetus lacked paternal genes. In other words, this solidifies the researcher's virgin birth hypothesis. Warren Booth, an entomologist at Virginia Tech University, told The BBC that virgin births are common in animals that descend from dinosaurs. He told The BBC that there likely hadn't been a recorded virgin birth among crocodiles before this because most people weren't specifically looking for it.

Persons: —, Warren Booth, Warren Organizations: Service, Parque Reptilandia, Virginia Tech University, BBC Locations: Costa Rica

☆ Scientists Discover a Virgin Birth in a Crocodile
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Veronique Greenwood | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In January 2018, a female crocodile in a Costa Rican zoo laid a clutch of eggs. While crocodiles can lay sterile eggs that don’t develop, some of this clutch looked quite normal. In this case, life did not, uh, find a way, as the egg eventually yielded a perfectly formed but stillborn baby crocodile. In a paper out Wednesday in the journal Biology Letters, a team of researchers report that the baby crocodile was a parthenogen — the product of a virgin birth, containing only genetic material from its mother. Here’s how a virgin birth happens: As an egg cell matures in its mother’s body, it divides repeatedly to generate a final product with exactly half the genes needed for an individual.

Persons: ” —, parthenogenesis Organizations: cobras, California condors Locations: Costa Rican, sawfish

☆ Rare video footage of a tardigrade threesome that lasted 30 minutes documents the wild sex lives of water bears
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Crystal Raypole | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

James Weiss recently captured one of the first known recordings of a tardigrade threesome. The water bear threesome lasted about 30 minutes and involved a lot of belly jabbing and poop. Wanda von Wenk, 1914A water bear threesomeResearchers first published details of tardigrade mating behavior in a 2016 paper, but other observations of water bear sex remains fairly limited. A water bear threesome. Water bear reproductionA female tardigrade with oocytes circled in red.

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