<![CDATA[There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex.]]>There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. The title and summary of a new paper on how scientists define sex, the lack of unanimity on the topic, and how some of the existing definitions just don't work for all organisms.

Link: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/ele.70350

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/topic/3d192de1-379c-4a76-96f4-ae26afe96fbc/there-is-no-scientific-consensus-on-biological-sex.RSS for NodeFri, 24 Jul 2026 07:56:40 GMTSun, 12 Jul 2026 12:18:58 GMT60<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:24:46 GMT]]>@ombialik Thank you! I used to save all my back issues of Scientific American. Sine I subscribed at about age 14, that became a very big pile when I made to decision to only save a couple of years, at age 55 or so.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://c.im/users/meltedcheese/statuses/116909820248861564https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://c.im/users/meltedcheese/statuses/116909820248861564Mon, 13 Jul 2026 00:24:46 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:40:37 GMT]]>@ombialik

it makes you wonder what else we will learn when more is known about the other species of hummingbirds (there are ballpark 350 species)

we have already learned that an unrelated bird species, the white-throated sparrow, has 4 genders

there is always something new to discover!

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://toot.community/users/peachfront/statuses/116908938826724125https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://toot.community/users/peachfront/statuses/116908938826724125Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:40:37 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:34:31 GMT]]>@meltedcheese Found it, 2017 item in Scientific American by Amanda Montañez
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/beyond-xx-and-xy-the-extraordinary-complexity-of-sex-determination/

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.world/users/ombialik/statuses/116908914861171499https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.world/users/ombialik/statuses/116908914861171499Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:34:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:24:50 GMT]]>@AubreyDeLosDestinos @ombialik @rysiek I think the thing is that transphobes often want to claim it’s simply scientific fact. Biology says this, therefore opinions are irrelevant. When actually as this paper seems to point out, there is no such thing as unambiguous universal scientific fact in this topic.

Social constructs are not necessarily easy to change, true, but they are at least possible to change.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/benjamineskola/statuses/116908876801935478https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://hachyderm.io/users/benjamineskola/statuses/116908876801935478Sun, 12 Jul 2026 20:24:50 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:51:31 GMT]]>@ombialik @rysiek Isn't that the problem, though? It's a social construct and social consensus, and it's hard to overrule.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://101010.pl/users/AubreyDeLosDestinos/statuses/116908273946413054https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://101010.pl/users/AubreyDeLosDestinos/statuses/116908273946413054Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:51:31 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:49:45 GMT]]>@ombialik I found this chart to be useful in understanding the biological basis of . As you say, no scientific consensus yet. Unfortunately, I’ve lost track of the original source.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://c.im/users/meltedcheese/statuses/116908266958967340https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://c.im/users/meltedcheese/statuses/116908266958967340Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:49:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:20:52 GMT]]>@cxiao imagine there is none. And this is why you don't post the link here.

--
Uriel Fanelli
Using Aktor: https://git.keinpfusch.net/loweel/Aktor-2
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]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://bbs.keinpfusch.net/users/uriel/statuses/01KXBNH6DKS6ZMBKKDXQH834VFhttps://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://bbs.keinpfusch.net/users/uriel/statuses/01KXBNH6DKS6ZMBKKDXQH834VFSun, 12 Jul 2026 17:20:52 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:03:09 GMT]]>@ombialik I admit my ignorance in a so specific analysis, but since it cites philosophers too it looks like anyone playing with words, more than science, may have their take.
That said, what I find disturbing is always that final need to "classify" individuals. While it's quite often easy to tell who's gonna reproduce and who's not, the scientifical evidence is (ironically) now used by social and religious movements, that just want to keep a grip on power and control. These are just free words.

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.uno/ap/users/116838771744618033/statuses/116908083725648532https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.uno/ap/users/116838771744618033/statuses/116908083725648532Sun, 12 Jul 2026 17:03:09 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:48:59 GMT]]>@uriel imagine being so bad at reading comprehension and so bad at understanding scientific paper publication that you can't find the very obvious peer review link that it took me 5 seconds to find

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/cxiao/statuses/116908028014437134https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://infosec.exchange/users/cxiao/statuses/116908028014437134Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:48:59 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:12:28 GMT]]>@peachfront Seems to be indeed the white-necked jacobin, based on the references in the captions. e.g. https://royalsocietypublishing.org/rspb/article/289/1982/20220332/79500/Intersexual-social-dominance-mimicry-drives-female

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.world/users/ombialik/statuses/116907884475377586https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://mastodon.world/users/ombialik/statuses/116907884475377586Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:12:28 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:02:45 GMT]]>@ombialik

i don't know what hummingbird they are illustrating but i think this was brought home in hummingbirds when a VERY widespread & (we thought) well-known hummingbird, the white-necked jacobin, was discovered that if you did the DNA test, around 10-20% of the birds in "male" plumage were "females" (capable of laying eggs)

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://toot.community/users/peachfront/statuses/116907846221391862https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://toot.community/users/peachfront/statuses/116907846221391862Sun, 12 Jul 2026 16:02:45 GMT<![CDATA[Reply to There is No (scientific) Consensus on Biological Sex. on Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:40:24 GMT]]>@ombialik not a single positive peer review, h- index unknown. Lol.

--
Uriel Fanelli
Using Aktor: https://git.keinpfusch.net/loweel/Aktor-2
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old blog: https://blog.keinpfusch.net
new blog: https://keinpfusch.net

]]>https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://bbs.keinpfusch.net/users/uriel/statuses/01KXBFS7YREN534XP3B8KFE174https://forum.fedi.dk/post/https://bbs.keinpfusch.net/users/uriel/statuses/01KXBFS7YREN534XP3B8KFE174Sun, 12 Jul 2026 15:40:24 GMT