Evolution of sex

The birds of the air and of the land do it, the bees also do it, animals do it, and the humans we too do it since the time of evolution until now. What is sex?  Basically, different people have a different meaning to what sex is. Sex can be described as a natural feeling which people find enjoyable even if they can enjoy in different ways but it is a natural activity. Sex is not only the normal vaginal intercourse but anything that can feel as sexual in humanity. This act has drastically changed over time in humans in the millennia and past decades. Has humanity changed the meaning and forms of sex? Scientists have tried to explain the possibility of humanity doing it better than all the other kinds of animals (Nye, & In Powell, 2015). Humanity has continued to evolve with time so it is possible to note that the act has changed accordingly. Morally, sex has been considered the game changer when it comes to explaining the differences. Humanity has changed either to good morals or to the forbidden morals. During the times of our ancestors, the act was carried out as a way to reproduce more children but due to the evolution, humanity has added meaning to what sex is to be not only a way to reproduce but also a way to enjoy. There have been some myths that sex will always lead to babies (Bellah, 2011). This is however not the truth since there is a very long process before a person gets pregnant.

Since the beginning of time, evolutionary biologists have not been clear on how we humans came to know that sex can be a way to procreate or make babies. The only clear thing is that humanity and in this case, the Homo sapiens discovered that having a relationship and copulation can create babies sometimes between 200,000 years ago to 50,000 years ago (Nye, & In Powell, 2015). Neolithic understanding of this topic describes two parts of this scenario on one side having a mother and the other the child. How humans came to know of procreation varies widely according to cultural groups where every member knows at least a word or two about the link between the babies and sex. However, anthropologists who were working in the New Guinea noted that the occupants never connected the relationship between children and sex in the late 20th century.  For example, a certain cultural group by the name Trobriand Islanders never believed that the males had anything to do with the birth of a child (Bellah, 2011). Anthropologists thought this as a strange response since the semen in the males was required in order the females can conceive at any one time but at the same time, they seem to identify the tie between a child and sex. Basically, if we the humans always have a solution to every problem then the evolution of sex seems to be the reason as to why there are taboos in regard to sex and the cultural differences to the same act.

Advantages of sex

Ideologically, there are more than enough reasons as to why humanity should engage in sex. Sex makes a person look younger. Neuropsychologists have recently revealed that many old men and women who are very active in sex look younger mostly seven years younger to their original age. Engaging in this act many times is however not the reason as to why one will look younger but what is the reason behind engaging in the act citing the first reason to be the sex must be loving. Sex can be a fertility booster but this has been disregarded by the male genders citing its lack of factual grounds (Ryan, & Jethá, 2012). It is believed that the more a person engages in the sexual act the higher the chances that the sperms in the male gender become of greater quality. Healthy semen are found to be less than two days old before and if one abstains for more than 10 days than that of two days old is better than the 10days old semen.

Couples have been advised that if they want a healthy or a baby in general, keep the act lively and have sex at least twice a week and not limited to when the woman is ovulating. Sex can be a method to fight cold and flu, when one haves sex once or twice a week since it raises the body's level of an antibody by the name immunoglobulin A. natural steroids of high levels also known as the anti-ageing hormone, have the capability of keeping the body fit and longer (Lindenfors, 2017). When having sex, this natural steroid is highly secreted all over the body and immediately after orgasm the level of this steroid in the bloodstream moves to five times the normal original amounts. Studies which were carried out in the Australia revealed that individuals who engaged in the act at least more than thrice in a week had a 50% lower capability of dying of a diseases or any medical related reason than those individuals who only engage in sex at least once a month so sex in a way lengthens the lifetime of a person. Sex helps in burning calories in our bodies. The study shows that if a person engages in sex at least twice a week, then there is a high chance that the person will have lost at least 5,000 calories in a year (Ryan, & Jethá, 2012). Looking for more styles is a better way to keep fit by toning various muscles and keeping the limbs flexible and lean.

Many studies have been conducted as to whether engaging in sex prevents the risks of having a heart attack or not. It is very clear that the act prevents having a heart attack and also in women, orgasm prevents the risk of having heart diseases compared to a woman who never engages in the act for a month. Sex increases the attractiveness of a person since the more times you and your partner engage in sex, the higher the possibility and desire to engage in sex more (Lindenfors, 2017). Sex is believed to be the reason behind a person having a smooth face with no wrinkles. A hormone by the name oestrogen is released during sex and which basically helps the effects on the skin in smoothing out the fine lines. This is especially useful during menopause as the woman skin tends to be drier and with more wrinkles as the level of oestrogen goes down so the higher the act in a week the higher the chances of the oestrogen increasing. Sex improves a person’s self-esteem since the more a person engages in the act the more the person feels more confident (Ryan, & Jethá, 2012). Studies have indicated that couples which engage in sex more have less stress and the level of blood pressure decreased compared to individuals who abstained. Sex also keeps a person out of ever experiencing prostate cancer especially in men who are in the late 50s. Sex clears the prostate and toxins which would otherwise trigger the cancerous cells. Finally, sex makes a person feel good and happy all day long. Research indicates that individuals who had sex as the first thing in the morning were likely to have a happy day than those who woke up for a cup of coffee.

Types of forms of sex

According to the evolution of the sex, many theories have been put forward to assist explain the different sexual reproduction systems.  All the sexual reproducing eukaryotic beings come from the same ancestors which were a single celled species. Many organisms reproduce sexually in regards to its normal form such as the animals, plants, and the fungi. When explaining the term evolution of sex, there are two crucial concerns which include the maintenance and the origin. The origin of sex is a complex step to experiment but the maintenance of the reproduction system is more of simpler to explain the evolution of sex. During the evolution, the multi-cellular organisms developed to cells which were specialized and others into organs and tissues which had specialized functions (Lindenfors, 2017). The cells are developed through a process called meiosis which reduces the in number the chromosomes by half in each reproductive cell and in return increases the number of cell division. This evolution is very important since the gonads were responsible for the production of the eggs and the sperms. 

 

In reproduction and specifically human reproduction, we have both the male and the female reproduction systems. For the males, there are two vital parts where we have the testes which store the sperms and the penis. In humanity, both of these parts are located on the outside the body (Miller, 2011). Locating the testes outside the body enhances temperature regulations for the sperms which are vital requirement since the sperms need to be fewer 3degrees less than that of the general body which is 37degrees.  In case the testicles are very near or located close to the body, the temperature increase can lead to the lack of conception or it can make the sperms less active and difficult to fertilize the eggs in females.

In the female reproductive system, there are also two main divisions identified as the uterus and vagina and the ova and the ovaries. The uterus and the vagina receive the semen while the ovaries will produce the ova. A part called the cervix connects the vagina to the uterus whereas the ovaries are connected to the uterus through the fallopian tubes. The ovaries are responsible for the release of the ovum which goes to the uterus through the fallopian tubes. Fertilization of the ovum by the sperm usually occurs at a specific junction called the ampullary-isthmic junction thus the reason why not every sexual intercourse will result in pregnancy. The sperm may meet with the egg through penetration and fertilize it with the assistance of an enzyme which is present in the acrosome (Miller, 2011). Fertilization normally occurs in the oviduct and can also occur in the uterus. The result after fertilization is the zygote which then is implanted onto the walls of the uterus where it begins to grow. After the fetus is big enough to survive externally, contractions in the uterus force it out through the vagina. Human reproduction normally starts with the copulation then a nine month during pregnancy and finally childbirth but due to the development in technology and lifestyle wants, it can also be successful through a process called artificial insemination (Nye, & In Powell, 2015). On the contrary, pregnancy can also be prevented through the use of certain devices such as the intrauterine and the condoms which are classified as contraceptives. The process takes place when the male reproductive parts specifically the penis is inserted into a female vagina where certain thrusts are done until ejaculation by the male takes place (Diamond, 2014). Through this process of ejaculation, the semen released contains sperms which are responsible for the fertilization of the eggs.

There are mainly three forms of sex according to research. These three forms are categorized into two namely the asexual and the sexual. Asexual type means that there is no crossing and the sexual means there is the act of crossing. For the asexual type of reproduction, one parent is the one that participates in reproduction whereas making similar progeny. In the sexual type, two parents participate in the reproduction cycle. The three main categories are the asexual, hermaphrodite, and dioecious. The main advantages of the asexual type are the fact that there is no need to look for a partner and also the high effectiveness allows the partner to reproduce at any place even when alone (Miller, 2011).  Valuable combinations of the genes which develop as a result of mutation will not dissipate and they are carried from one generation to the next generation without changing in form. There are also disadvantages of the asexual type which are that the mutations are particularly the only available source of diversity that is a requirement in the natural selection.

With the development of the sexual processes, the sexual forms mainly lose the benefits of the asexual type of reproduction. Sexual type gains a new which is practically an inexhaustible dependant of variety. Recombination also is important since it provides the ability to repair any damaged genes. The evolutionary advantages of the sexual type which is recombination in nature are not clear since any useful combinations realized can be damaged or destroyed in the next generation (Miller, 2011). Both the sexual differentiations and process are also different in phenomena and they are mostly diametrically opposed. The first case increases the diversity of the genotypes and this is basically the evolutionary duties. The second case reduces it to half and there is no explanation for this kind of evolutionary duty or role.

Most of these single-celled beings in the world, for example, the bacteria survive by reproducing asexually through making as many copies of themselves as possible. In the animals and mainly the mammals, various scientists have put forward the theory of how sex evolved by there seems to be no neutral ground on these theories. Through the asexual type of reproduction, there is no much effort needed and it is more convenient since there is no need to look for a partner. About over 90 percent of the animals that are multi-celled, they use sex as a way to reproduce. Gametes are formed in the process of reproduction, it is mixed together to create a progeny which has an entirely unique genome. The theory if sex evolution has been a mystery since the process of what caused the sex to be incredibly prevalent through the animal kingdom (Diamond, 2014). Many hypotheses on the evolution of sex state that in the case of the genes getting into contact sexually between individuals, the bad genetic mutation can highly be eliminated faster than that of the asexual type of reproduction. These hypotheses have however been difficult to outline for decades now.

The main challenge is presented when the scientists try to make an experimentation of these ideas. Some of these species of animals are capable of doing both the asexual and the sexual considering the environments which they are thriving in. for example, the snails, and yeast can use either the asexual or the sexual. By studying both of these organisms, the scientists have the opportunity to compare the relative health of the asexual and sexual offspring produced. A hypothesis that is named after a wonderland character by the name Alice still suggests that sexuality is all about the elimination of chances any disease through exchanging the cell surface genes of proteins where diseases try to invade mostly. A recent factual evidence in a particular species in the New Zealand indicates that the snails which are produced sexually are more likely to get infected by a common disease or parasite compared to those that were produced asexually (Diamond, 2014). This has however reduced in the subsequent generations which can mean that those organisms or beings that can use both ways, the capability to use any have a significant benefit. Evolutionary, certain mechanisms such as the natural selection cannot be able to reveal in what ways organisms should abandon their asexual reproduction in regards to the inefficient sexual reproductions. Sex currently does exist because it is a recipe for evolution. This is an efficient way to reproduce in humans and most animals. Sex carries certain rights which similarly bring disadvantages such as in any group of animals, the sexual ones are outcompeted by the nonsexual ones. Looking at this issue biologically, sex is preferred as the efficient way for reproduction.

Besides the most difficulties which are associated with the sheer rarity of the beneficial mutations and also the closest cousins, there are added challenges such as the two types of cell division namely the meiosis and the mitosis (Diamond, 2014). During the process of mitosis, every chromosome is passed and copied from the parent cell to daughter cell. Meiosis mainly takes place in the sex cells and in particular the eggs and sperms. Meiosis normally results in the production of new combinations of parent genes with unique genotypes. Evolutionary biologists are unable to decide on a single explanation of how somatic cell which is reproduced by the mitosis while the gametes are reproduced by the meiosis (Miller, 2011). Also, the scientists have been unable to explain the reason as to why the chromosome number is always halved when the male and the female gametes meet during reproduction. Using the method of selection as per the human genetic, there can be sufficiently stronger and unpredictable environment giving rise to variations in genetic reproduction by combination or sex. In the case of continuous selection, the genetic variation was over and over again removed from the population which gives a slight chance for the variation in sex to have an advantage (Nye, & In Powell, 2015). Certain theory states that the next coming generation will be in most cases be competing for the same resources and genetically identical generations will be experiencing a more severe competition since the latter will be genetically different in utilizing the resources.

Conclusion

The evolution of sex remains and most likely will remain a mystery to those who are committed to a pure materialistic idea of the reality and also the origin of incredibly complicated meiosis procedure which makes the sex possible thereby forming an embryo which will also remain mythical to them (Bellah, 2011). At conception stage, those chromosomes that are inherited from the sperms are combined with the chromosomes which are inherited from the female eggs to give rise to a new generation or organism. A biologist would make everyone believe that undirected occurrences which are brought about by the marvelously independent procedure of halving genetic details and combinations through sexual production. This mechanism is not only a sophisticated mechanism that is important for the reproduction of a sperm and an egg but also another intricate procedure that joins the genetic details during the fertilization in order to reproduce a zygote which will later transform into an embryo. To have a belief that the materialistic procedure that is pure and dictated by the law of chances can produce such mechanisms is an explanation beyond the reasonable limits in this case (Bellah, 2011). The mere idea and the existence of the cell in humanity is one of the greatest astonishments in this world.

References

Ryan, C., & Jethá, C. (2012). Sex at dawn: How we mate, why we stray, and what it means for     modern relationships. New      York: Harper.

Nye, B., & In Powell, C. S. (2015). Undeniable: Evolution and the science of creation.

Bellah, R. N. (2011). Religion in human evolution: From the Paleolithic to the Axial Age.             Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of          Harvard University Press.

Diamond, J. M. (2014). Why is sex fun?: The evolution of human sexuality.

Miller, G. (2011). The mating mind: How sexual choice shaped the evolution of human nature.    New York: Anchor Books.

Lindenfors, P. (2017). For whose benefit?: The biological and cultural evolution of human           cooperation.