Are you a man or a prairie vole? Monogamy can be injected!

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According to this article, it may be possible to inject males with a chemical that makes them monogamous. If the male is a vole. What a strange study.

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/89/100115?z=1728_00000_1000_nb_05

Excerpt:
Each vole was allowed to wander between his first partner and a new potential mate. The study showed that both the prairie voles and the genetically modified meadow moles huddled close to their original partner while the untreated meadow voles behaved like loners and spent time by themselves.

― Orbit (Orbit), Thursday, 17 June 2004 20:52 (twenty-two years ago)

It sounds more like they've discovered the "clingy" gene. They didn't try to tempt the modified meadow voles with foxy meadow vole secretaries!

― Casuistry (Chris P), Thursday, 17 June 2004 20:56 (twenty-two years ago)

The article in my paper made a distinction between cultural monogamy and biological/zoological monogamy. In the latter, critters may still get on-the-side tail (GEDDIT?), but still nest and nuzzle with the same mate.

― Leeefuse 73 (Leee), Thursday, 17 June 2004 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

somebody inject this guy, stat!

― hstencil (hstencil), Thursday, 17 June 2004 20:58 (twenty-two years ago)

apparently the number of conceptions by extra-pair copulations in humans and songbirds is about the same: 1 in 10.

― MarkH (MarkH), Thursday, 17 June 2004 21:18 (twenty-two years ago)

i think the injecting of testosterone into females in order to boost their sex drive is on the rise as well. Gender reversal in our future.

― Ask For Samantha (thatgirl), Thursday, 17 June 2004 21:23 (twenty-two years ago)

bring on the hairy horny chicks!

― Bloodclaart Gangsta Youth Club (don), Thursday, 17 June 2004 21:28 (twenty-two years ago)

i think the injecting of testosterone into females

someone at my work has taken some time off to change from a he to a she- presumably this involves oestrogen injections.

― MarkH (MarkH), Thursday, 17 June 2004 21:30 (twenty-two years ago)

my mom actually gets testosterone injections to offset some of the effects of the lithium. her only complaint is the acne.

― Ask For Samantha (thatgirl), Thursday, 17 June 2004 21:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Wow, I've never heard of that, Sam. I just wonder *why* they are studying monogamy in animals, I mean could the future possible human application be?

― Orbit (Orbit), Friday, 18 June 2004 00:51 (twenty-two years ago)

perhaps chemically forced monogamy is a better option than adultery or something

― are 'friends' electricsound? (electricsound), Friday, 18 June 2004 00:53 (twenty-two years ago)

Monogamy is a social construct though, not a blerdy disease...

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 18 June 2004 00:56 (twenty-two years ago)

This all seems very odd. I understand that studying breeding structures in animals can be helpful in a conservation/control setting. Eg it can help boost (or reduce) breeding numbers and provide info about genetic diversity and ways of avoiding inbreeding depression.

But I don't know why it needs to be known about people.

I thought this study was in the news cos there is no appropriate news at the moment. Last night we got a piece on a baby skunk adopted by a cat, in New zealand, why do we care?

― isadora (isadora), Friday, 18 June 2004 01:10 (twenty-two years ago)

Trayce, there is a biological definition of monogamy that deviates from cultural monogamy. Let me scratch up the article.

In biology circles, monogamy carries a social, not sexual defnition. It means a male and female hang out, mate, nest and raise offspring together. But they still sometimes get a little ~~action~~ tail [HAHA GEDDIT?!] on the side.

"Most people assume monogamy means exclusive mating with your partner, but animals don't do that... People don't really do that either, unless you have another factor, like religion, that enforces strict mongamy."

― Leeefuse 73 (Leee), Friday, 18 June 2004 01:16 (twenty-two years ago)

Um.

― Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 18 June 2004 05:03 (twenty-two years ago)

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