Let me tell you ’bout the birds and the bees and the flowers and the trees….
Remember that old Jewel Akens tune? Well, Arizona State University researchers are rewriting the lyrics.
They have answered the 200-year-old question of sex determination in bees. Apparently, there are five amino acid differences that separate males from females.
This finding answers a question that beekeepers have been trying to understand for centuries through genetic crosses and manipulation. It also gives the scientific community new information about human genetics, because honeybees are good models for understanding human disease, aging and Alzheimer’s, as well as social structure, said Margaret Coulombe, an academic communications specialist at ASU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Read the full, original article: Breakthrough in bee sexing gives new insight into human diseases
