Comments on: Like Father, Like Son

By: monica

monica — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 15:53:59 +0000

I agree with Deirde; just because of the point that she made about attractiveness. I believe this because if the genes are not mutatated during the process, it should simply look like the animal making the reformation. http://www.livescience.com/animals/070125_spider_rave.html ; the way they reproduce as opposed to have a visible call, this Psycadelic Spider, is known for its invisible sex dance. This is known as one of the weirdest ways to attract another offspring. It shows a ultraviolet sun ray in its eyesight and legs. This struct me because when it reproduces the offspring always flashes off a different color. For example, if the parents colors were green and blue; the offspring would not have green and blue they would have a color like pink.

By: Emilio

Emilio — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 01:07:28 +0000

Well, I actually came across a similar topic a while ago. I was watching The Learning Channel(TLC) and a show called “The Science of Sex Appeal” came on. I watched the program and it spoke of how sex appeal, or attractiveness as you might call it, is greatly based on genes, but also on normal features. The program mentioned a lot about how the symmetry of someone’s face is a great contributor to attractiveness. The shape and size of one’s body is also a huge contributor, but something like a woman’s lips are also a form of “seduction”, if you will. I can’t explain further without being graphic, but if you want to watch some clips, there is a link below. You can also check the TV listings for this program.

Sources:
http://tlc.discovery.com/search/results.html?query=The+Science+of+Sex+Appeal&x=21&y=8

By: Deirdre

Deirdre — Sun, 10 Oct 2010 15:05:26 +0000

I agree with Jess when she says that attractiveness can be hereditary. Most humans look like a combination of their mother and father, or they can look very similar to either one of their parents. It makes sense that an attractive person would produce attractive offspring. I can use common sense to figure out that an attractive parent would most likely produce an attractive child, but i researched why. In an article titled “Why We’re Not All Attractive,” the author used the example of fruit flies having the same attractive traits as their attractive father, but went into detail about why humans have the same tendency to be attractive if their parents are. Scientists discovered that males with greater genetic diversity in areas of the DNA used for disease defense were qualified as attractive by many women. Since the males with greater genetic mutation were more likely to mate, they passed the same higher rate of mutation onto their offspring.

http://www.livescience.com/health/070328_lek_paradox.html

By: Jessica K.

Jessica K. — Fri, 01 Oct 2010 02:23:06 +0000

This is a very interesting post. I haven’t really considered the fact that flies may choose their mating partner by their attractiveness. After some research, I have found a similar experiment that was done by the University of Exeter, also using flies.

http://www.dnaindia.com/world/report_sexy-fathers-have-sexy-sons_1134534

After conducting their experiment, they have tentatively concluded that there is no certain factor that classifies a fly as attractive. However, I do think that attractiveness is hereditary with in humans. For example, if an attractive man and woman reproduce and they both have dark hair and light eyes, the child will most likely be attractive with dark hair and light eyes.
I also think that all animals are in some way similar so it would be valid to predict ideas about hereditary attractiveness of humans based on Drospophila.

By: Morris B

Morris B — Wed, 08 Sep 2010 18:27:23 +0000

I think it is really interesting that male flies attract females with a song that they make from their wings, that to most people just sounds likes a annoying buzzing sound.