Scientists Solve Puzzle Of Half-Male, Half-Female Chickens

Some chickens appear to be male on one side of the body and female on the other, and researchers writing in Nature this week say they know why. It was previously thought that sex chromosomes in birds control whether a testis or ovary forms, with sexual traits then being determined by hormones. The authors of the new study, however, identified differences between male and female cells that control the development of sexual traits. The scientists have named the phenomenon, cell autonomous sex identity (CASI). The findings may also be relevant to why males and females differ in behavior and in susceptibility to disease. read more

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