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Life

Sex may have evolved as a way to pool resources during tough times

How sexual reproduction came about has long been a mystery, but an evolutionary model suggests it could have started with cells fusing to increase their food reserves

By Michael Le Page

7 March 2025

Mating Garter snakes

A whole lot of mating garter snakes

seeer/Imazins/Getty Images

Birds do it, a few bees get to do it – but how did sexual reproduction evolve in the first place? An evolutionary model suggests that it could have started as a way for two cells to pool their resources when favourable environments turn harsh.

“The idea is when times get hard, you fuse with another cell,” says at the University of York, UK. “Then you’ve got this big cell which has more chance of surviving.”

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