To Serve Children: Science Says No Just In Time for Thanksgiving

Ah, what would we do without science to keep us on the moral path? "When to care for, abandon, or eat your offspring: the evolution of parental care and filial cannibalism,"

....highlights the potential importance of a range of factors in the evolution of filial cannibalism using a mathematical model of analysis. It is potentially affected by the ability to selectively consume lower quality offspring, preferences associated with mate choice, density-mediated survival, and population dynamics. Professor Michael Bonsall, a Royal Society Research Fellow and University Lecturer in Mathematical Biology at Oxford University, said: 'This sort of behaviour - cannibalising your offspring - is widespread amongst different animal groups. We show that there is not a single benefit to eating your offspring, and it depends on several factors and explanations.'

Unless, of course, you are stranded with a kindergarten class on a desert island in Colorado after global warming kicks in.
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Plus bonus science fact: Good news for worms ".... a drug used to treat [human] depression can extend the lifespan of adult roundworms."

Posted by Vanderleun at November 21, 2007 10:49 AM