Sperm
(IN PHOTO) Sperm samples, each individually numbered, rest in a tank of liquid nitrogen, which is seen coming from the tank, at California Cryobank headquarters in Los Angeles January 30, 2003. California Cryobank has offered to military personnel one year free sperm storage as precaution against the possibly harmful effects of vaccine or chemical weapons exposure on their fertility. More than 40 members of the military have taken up the offer, with the threat of United States military action against Iraq. Reuters

British scientists found that the sperm of males does not only function as a key to reproduction, but can also help to prevent extinction of populations. This was found after studying why evolutionary selection allows men to exist amidst the sperm’s limited purpose.

The research conducted at at Britain's University of East Anglia found that males play an important role in the process of sexual selection, which is a mechanism that fights diseases and prevent civilisations from wiping out. In a population where reproduction is carried out through asexual means, particularly that of female to female, the number of offsprings born are high; however, scientists discovered that the process of males competing for females to reproduce or sexual selection, enhances the health of the population and improves the genetic composition.

The study was performed by evolving Tribolium flour beetles inside the laboratory for 10 years. These species have the same characteristics and are observed under the same conditions; however, the intensity of sexal slection varied during the adult phase. The ranges of the said sexual intensity started from monogamous pairing without any competition, to a vast ration of 90 males competing for only 10 females. Seven years into the study, the scientists found that the offsprings of those who came from sexual selections were more health-resilient and less likely to face extinction. Conversely, those who were reproduced through asexual means were more faced with population decline under inbreeding and were said to have faced extinction by the tenth generation.

According to the study published in the journal Nature, sexual selection, sex and competition enable population to stay strong genetically and prevent them from being vulnerable to diseases or from dying out. "Competition among males for reproduction provides a really important benefit, because it improves the genetic health of populations," Matt Gage, study leader and professor said. "Sexual selection achieves this by acting as a filter to remove harmful genetic mutations, helping populations to flourish and avoid extinction in the long-term."

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