Why Sex is Good

By Clyde Freeman Herreid

Abstract

This interrupted case is based on a 2005 article in Nature written by three scientists from the Imperial College London that deals with the issue of sexual vs. asexual reproduction and their relative merits—a question that has bedeviled biologists for over 100 years. The article serves as the final stage of this case focusing on why sex is good (at least in some circumstances). Written for a general biology class where the question of evolution is considered, the case would also be appropriate for use in an evolution or ecology course.

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Date Posted

09/05/2005

Overview

Objectives

To emphasize the methods of designing and collecting evidence to test a hypothesis.
To examine a major hypothesis in evolutionary theory—the evolution of sex.

Keywords

Evolution of sex; sexual reproduction; asexual reproduction; genetic variation; binary fission; parthenogenesis; August Weismann; Rolf Hoekstra

Subject Headings

Biology (General)

Ecology

Evolutionary Biology

EDUCATIONAL LEVEL

High school, Undergraduate lower division

FORMAT

PDF

TOPICAL AREAS

Scientific method

LANGUAGE

English

TYPE/METHODS

Interrupted, Journal Article

Teaching Notes & Answer Key

Teaching Notes

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Answer Key

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