Nice sperm finish last
Sperm are "ruthless competitors" who aren't above poisoning their brothers in the race to fertilise an egg. Researchers in Berlin studied mouse sperm cells to better understand the effects of a DNA sequence known as the t-haplotype. They already knew these sperm swim straighter (rather than
in circles of death) and faster than competing sperm without it. Now, they've found that those straight shooters are a little less than sporting. Sperm with the t-haplotype manage to disable sperm without it and at the same time produce an antidote, which protects them. Researchers have called it a "selfish" gene — genetic material with a single mission: to make copies of itself. Because of the t-haplotype's ruthless effectiveness at passing from one generation to the next, according to the researchers, male mice carrying one copy of the gene sequence will transmit it to up to 99 per cent of their offspring.
Sacre bleu! French lunch culture shifts
The pandemic is forcing a new rule in France … It will now be legal to eat at your desk during work. Yes, you heard that right. It used to be against the law to neck a baguette with brie at your desk. But with the advent of Covid, the Government wants to make it easier for workers who report to offices to remain safe during the lunch hour. The original rule had been put on the books years ago to make sure bosses couldn't force their employees to work through lunch.
Fair warning
