Female
hideFemale (♀) is the sex of an organism, or a part of an organism, which produces mobile ova (egg cells). The ova are defined as the larger gametes in a heterogamous reproduction system, while the smaller, usually motile gamete, the spermatozoon, is produced by the male. A female individual cannot reproduce sexually without access to the gametes of a male (an exception is parthenogenesis). Some organisms can reproduce both sexually and asexually.
There is no single genetic mechanism behind sex differences in different species and the existence of two sexes seems to have evolved multiple times independently in different evolutionary lineages. Other than the defining difference in the type of gamete produced, differences between males and females in one lineage cannot always be predicted by differences in another. The concept is not limited to animals; egg cells are produced by chytrids, diatoms, water moulds and land plants, among others. In land plants, female and male designate not only the egg- and sperm-producing organisms and structures, but also the structures of the sporophytes that give rise to male and female plants.
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News tagged with females
Are angry women more like men?
Medicine & Health / Psychology & Psychiatry
Dec 04, 2009 |
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"Why is it that men can be bastards and women must wear pearls and smile?" wrote author Lynn Hecht Schafran. The answer, according to an article in the Journal of Vision, may lie in our interpretation of facial expressions.
Studies suggest males have more personality
Nov 18, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Males have more pronounced personalities than females across a range of species - from humans to house sparrows - according to new research. Consistent personality traits, such as aggression ...
Scientists show that female fruit flies can be 'too attractive' to males
Dec 08, 2009 |
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Females can be too attractive to the opposite sex -- too attractive for their own good -- say biologists at UC Santa Barbara. They found that, among fruit flies, too much male attention directed toward attractive ...
Opposites attract: Monkeys choose mating partners with different genes
Nov 24, 2009 |
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The world's largest species of monkey 'chooses' mates with genes that are different from their own to guarantee healthy and strong offspring, according to a new research study.
Are female mountain goats sexually conflicted over size of mate?
Nov 17, 2009 |
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Mountain goats are no exception to the general rule among mammals that larger males sire more and healthier offspring. But University of Alberta researcher David Coltman has found a genetic quirk that might make female mountain ...
Female birds -- acting just like the guys -- become sexual show-offs in cooperative breeding species
Dec 09, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Female birds in species that breed in groups can find themselves under pressure to sexually show off and evolve the same kinds of embellishments - like fanciful tail feathers or chest-puffing ...
