/oss/taxonomy/term/5114/all en /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/how-nature-solved-problem-too-much-dna <p>When you consider how babies are made, you bump up against a basic math problem. No need for calculus here, or even the mental gymnastics of carrying the one. It’s a problem of doubling.</p> Thu, 16 Jun 2022 19:20:46 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9139 at /oss /oss/article/student-contributors-did-you-know-general-science/are-cat-breeders-sexist <p>Black, white, and orange – the signature colours of a calico cat. Subtract the white and you’ve got tortoise shell colouring. But there is gender colour discrimination at play: calico and tortoise shell patterns only occur in female felines.</p> Fri, 17 Jun 2022 14:00:00 +0000 Haleh Cohn 9137 at /oss /oss/article/general-science/identical-twins-are-not-identical <p>There is a common parental misunderstanding that arises when the term “identical twins” is paraded around. Identical twins are known scientifically as “monozygotic twins.” This Scrabble winner of a term refers to the fact that these types of twins arise when a single sperm fertilizes a single egg to form a zygote, and this zygote goes on to split into two masses of cells that give rise to the twins. By contrast, fraternal twins are essentially regular siblings that are born at the same time.</p> Thu, 21 Jan 2021 22:37:58 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8572 at /oss