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9 Advantages and Disadvantages of Sexual Reproduction

navajocodetalkersadmin on June 25, 2015 - 8:42 pm in Pros and Cons

Reproduction processes are the most important scientific processes that we have. They are how me and you got here in the first place. There are two different ways for species to reproduce, sexually and asexually. Sexual involves two mates, while asexually only involves one. Sexual reproduction is the most common, it’s also the way that humans reproduce. The benefits of sexual reproduction are pretty great, but just like anything in this world, there are some problems as well.

Advantages of Sexual Reproduction

1. Variation Guaranteed
Since sexual reproduction involves two completely different people, two sets of genes are combined to create an entirely new and unique person. This diversifies the population and ensures that there is variation in traits.

2. Promotes Evolution
Evolution is a natural process that all creatures go through slowly over the course of many years. This is done because genes are altered by environmental and medical circumstances very slowly over time. Species that reproduce asexually do not have the ability to adapt and evolve to their environment.

3. Keep It Going!
By far the biggest advantage of sexual reproduction is the fact that it keeps the species going through out the years. Thousands of species of animals have become extinct, and once a species is gone from the earth, they are gone for good.

4. Physical Pleasure
Many species, including humans and dolphins, don’t just have sexual intercourse to reproduce. It is a pleasurable experience, which brings people joy and happiness. This is very unique to the species that do it for pleasure because nearly all types of living creatures on the entire planet only reproduce to create offspring, and not for recreational purposes.

Disadvantages of Sexual Reproduction

1. Gene Roulette
Combining two vastly different sets of genes together can be risky, and mutations are the result. Diseases, illnesses, deformities, and birth defects can all result from two sets of genes not mixing well together. This is a pure guessing game for parents. These mutations of the genes are described as undesirable traits and are a result of sexual reproduction.

2. It’s A Pain In The….
Conceiving and carrying a child through sexual reproduction is a lengthy process. It takes a great deal of time and effort to have the child and even more to care for it. This is a big disadvantage of offspring had through sexual reproduction. Giving birth is also dangerous and very painful for the women who are carrying the offspring.

3. Too Many People!
Since sexual reproduction is enjoyable, a new rising problem of overpopulation is emerging. This is especially true within the human race. The population of humans on the planet is becoming extremely skewed and the over burdening of people are quickly dwindling down our natural resources.

4. Love Sucks
Another large disadvantage of sexual reproduction is the simple fact that you have to find a mate in order to reproduce. Finding a mate to have children with is often a life long search for many people, which can be put the population of their species in danger.

5. Not Ready For Disaster
Disasters happen all of the time, and there is typically no way for anyone to predict when or where they will strike. Species that reproduce asexually have a big leg up with this one. If something drastic where to happen that killed a large amount of a species, and put them on the brink of extinction, it is very difficult to create enough offspring to stop this with sexual reproduction. It simply takes too long, requires too much effort, and involves too many people for it be truly efficient in boosting population numbers.

Important Facts About Sexual Reproduction

  • Both the largest and smallest human cells are found inside the reproductive system.
  • Babies teeth begin to grow six months before you are even born.
  • Every single day, sexual intercourse takes place 120 million times in the world.
  • The largest human cell is the female egg. The smallest human cell is male sperm.
  • For the first day after fertilization the cells are referred to as a zygote.
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