Feds Spending $880,000 to Study Benefits of Snail Sex

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

I honestly don't understand why more people don't get infuriated by this kind of stuff. The military is pulling tuition funding from active servicemen which they were promised, but the feds have money for this shit.

The National Science Foundation awarded a grant for $876,752 to the University of Iowa to study whether there is any benefit to sex among New Zealand mud snails and whether that explains why any organism has sex.

The study, first funded in 2011 and continuing until 2015, will study the New Zealand snails to see if it is better that they reproduce sexually or asexually – the snail can do both – hoping to gain insight on why so many organisms practice sexual reproduction.

“Sexual reproduction is more costly than asexual reproduction, yet nearly all organisms reproduce sexually at least some of the time. Why is sexual reproduction so common despite its costs,” the study’s abstract asks.

Feds Spending $880,000 to Study Benefits of Snail Sex | CNS News

 

[Sallow]

Cool.

Hopefully they do more of this sort of research.

 

[KnobbyWalsh]

Makes about as much sense as the millions being wasted on this foolish same sex marriage stuff.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Cool.

Hopefully they do more of this sort of research.

Why?

 

[Avorysuds]

Cool.

Hopefully they do more of this sort of research.

And this folks is a great display of the difference in attitude some have by simply having a D in office over a R.

Under a D

war, deficits, expansions of the patriot act, Guantanamo and many other wonderful Bush era policies are now widely accepted and even defended on a daily basis by progressives and even some liberals..

 

[Sallow]

Makes about as much sense as the millions being wasted on this foolish same sex marriage stuff.

Actually it doesn't.

There's mounds of beneficial information that comes out of seemingly "wasteful" research. And the reasons for doing this sort of research are sound.

The whole "same sex marriage" issue is a total waste. Has been since DOMA. Even the lawyer representing the opposition was stunned by the congressional minutes when they were read back to him. The congress thought it had a "moral" obligation to pass it.

That in itself was a red flag..and should have been it's demise at the get go.

 

[Sallow]

Cool.

Hopefully they do more of this sort of research.

And this folks is a great display of the difference in attitude some have by simply having a D in office over a R.

Under a D

war, deficits, expansions of the patriot act, Guantanamo and many other wonderful Bush era policies are now widely accepted and even defended on a daily basis..

And how, just did you construe that, out of the post?

None of those topics were touched or even hinted at..

 

[Sallow]

Cool.

Hopefully they do more of this sort of research.

Why?

Post #6.

 

[Katzndogz]

Is the federal government jealous that snails may be enjoying some kind of sex that people don't? Maybe there is a new technique that can be taught to kindergardners.

 

[KnobbyWalsh]

Makes about as much sense as the millions being wasted on this foolish same sex marriage stuff.

Actually it doesn't.

There's mounds of beneficial information that comes out of seemingly "wasteful" research. And the reasons for doing this sort of research are sound.

The whole "same sex marriage" issue is a total waste. Has been since DOMA. Even the lawyer representing the opposition was stunned by the congressional minutes when they were read back to him. The congress thought it had a "moral" obligation to pass it.

That in itself was a red flag..and should have been it's demise at the get go.

What is the reason? I mean, if there's like, you know, a cure for a disease or something like that to come out of it, alright.

 

[Avorysuds]

Cool.

Hopefully they do more of this sort of research.

And this folks is a great display of the difference in attitude some have by simply having a D in office over a R.

Under a D

war, deficits, expansions of the patriot act, Guantanamo and many other wonderful Bush era policies are now widely accepted and even defended on a daily basis..

And how, just did you construe that, out of the post?

None of those topics were touched or even hinted at..

So they you don't support the mass of Obama's policies...? Interesting!

 

[Sallow]

Makes about as much sense as the millions being wasted on this foolish same sex marriage stuff.

Actually it doesn't.

There's mounds of beneficial information that comes out of seemingly "wasteful" research. And the reasons for doing this sort of research are sound.

The whole "same sex marriage" issue is a total waste. Has been since DOMA. Even the lawyer representing the opposition was stunned by the congressional minutes when they were read back to him. The congress thought it had a "moral" obligation to pass it.

That in itself was a red flag..and should have been it's demise at the get go.

What is the reason? I mean, if there's like, you know, a cure for a disease or something like that to come out of it, alright.

It's in the article:

Sexual reproduction is more costly than asexual reproduction, yet nearly all organisms reproduce sexually at least some of the time. Why is sexual reproduction so common despite its costs,” the study’s abstract asks.

“This project will use a different organism, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand snail, which has both sexual and independently-derived asexual lineages that make it ideally suited to address fundamental evolutionary questions of how genes and genomes evolve in the absence of sexual reproduction.”

In other words, the study seeks to see if there are genetic advantages to sexual reproduction that justify its evolutionary costs, advantages such as avoiding genetic mutations or gene loss.

 

[Avorysuds]

Actually it doesn't.

There's mounds of beneficial information that comes out of seemingly "wasteful" research. And the reasons for doing this sort of research are sound.

The whole "same sex marriage" issue is a total waste. Has been since DOMA. Even the lawyer representing the opposition was stunned by the congressional minutes when they were read back to him. The congress thought it had a "moral" obligation to pass it.

That in itself was a red flag..and should have been it's demise at the get go.

What is the reason? I mean, if there's like, you know, a cure for a disease or something like that to come out of it, alright.

It's in the article:

Sexual reproduction is more costly than asexual reproduction, yet nearly all organisms reproduce sexually at least some of the time. Why is sexual reproduction so common despite its costs,” the study’s abstract asks.

“This project will use a different organism, Potamopyrgus antipodarum, a New Zealand snail, which has both sexual and independently-derived asexual lineages that make it ideally suited to address fundamental evolutionary questions of how genes and genomes evolve in the absence of sexual reproduction.”

In other words, the study seeks to see if there are genetic advantages to sexual reproduction that justify its evolutionary costs, advantages such as avoiding genetic mutations or gene loss.

I can fully see why this is important now... How, just how did the world get along without asking the question of what is the advantage of is sex, for snails!

And you wonder why Progressives are seen as destructive, you support this because a D is in power and the idea of cuts anywhere is pure evil to someone like you... accept in military spending, and then of course you're ok with Obama spending more than Bush on that.... lol.

 

[Dont Taz Me Bro]

Makes about as much sense as the millions being wasted on this foolish same sex marriage stuff.

Actually it doesn't.

There's mounds of beneficial information that comes out of seemingly "wasteful" research. And the reasons for doing this sort of research are sound.

And what are the benefits to this particular research?

 

[editec]

PURE science often has no apparent immediate benefit.

Should we therefore not study it?

 

[Sallow]

Makes about as much sense as the millions being wasted on this foolish same sex marriage stuff.

Actually it doesn't.

There's mounds of beneficial information that comes out of seemingly "wasteful" research. And the reasons for doing this sort of research are sound.

And what are the benefits to this particular research?

Aside from the scientific value?

There have been plenty of invasive species coming from that region of the world. Knowing them, soup to nuts, will insure that if they are brought over here..and cause trouble, we can deal with it. That's a quick and dirty side benefit.

And done on the cheap.

 

[Katzndogz]

PURE science often has no apparent immediate benefit.

Should we therefore not study it?

Anyone who wants to study it should study it. They should also fund it themselves. The wrong is in taking the money someone else worked for to perform research because research exists.

 

[tjvh]

The National Science Foundation awarded a grant for $876,752 to the University of Iowa to study whether there is any benefit to sex among New Zealand mud snails and whether that explains why any organism has sex.

One word: Sequester.

 

[rightwinger]

I honestly don't understand why more people don't get infuriated by this kind of stuff. The military is pulling tuition funding from active servicemen which they were promised, but the feds have money for this shit.

The National Science Foundation awarded a grant for $876,752 to the University of Iowa to study whether there is any benefit to sex among New Zealand mud snails and whether that explains why any organism has sex.

The study, first funded in 2011 and continuing until 2015, will study the New Zealand snails to see if it is better that they reproduce sexually or asexually – the snail can do both – hoping to gain insight on why so many organisms practice sexual reproduction.

“Sexual reproduction is more costly than asexual reproduction, yet nearly all organisms reproduce sexually at least some of the time. Why is sexual reproduction so common despite its costs,” the study’s abstract asks.

Feds Spending $880,000 to Study Benefits of Snail Sex | CNS News

Seems like a legitimate zoological study

Got any other beefs?

 

[rightwinger]

The National Science Foundation awarded a grant for $876,752 to the University of Iowa to study whether there is any benefit to sex among New Zealand mud snails and whether that explains why any organism has sex.

One word: Sequester.

Sequester is a made up crisis by Congress

They can end it any time they want