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HALVING CHROMOSOMES. "Sexually reproducing organisms rely on the precise reduction of chromosome number during a specialized cell division called meiosis. Whereas mitosis produces diploid daughter cells from diploid cells, meiosis generates haploid gametes from diploid precursors." An outstanding review of meiosis. https://lnkd.in/dd-eUTZ View in LinkedIn

GENETIC REFRESHING. "Meiosis is the cell division that reshuffles genetic information between generations." https://lnkd.in/dE-FQEZ View in LinkedIn

GONADAL MEIOSIS. "Once in the gonad, germ cells acquire sex-specific morphologies and the ability to undergo meiosis to generate egg and sperm." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S009286740800202X View in LinkedIn

GERM CELL SET ASIDE. "Germ cells are the founder cells of all sexually reproducing organisms. During development, they are set aside from all somatic cells of the embryo. In many species, germ cells form at the fringe of the embryo proper and then traverse through several developing somatic tissues on their journey to the emerging gonad." (Excellent review). https://lnkd.in/dH2DC3D View in LinkedIn

"GERM CELLS are highly specialized cells that form gametes, and they are the only cells within an organism that contribute genes to offspring. Germline stem cells (GSCs) sustain gamete production, both oogenesis (egg production) and spermatogenesis (sperm production), in many organisms." https://lnkd.in/dsBeTUt View in LinkedIn

GENERATING UNIQUENESS. “Meiosis, from the Greek word meioun, meaning "to make small," refers to the specialized process by which germ cells divide to produce gametes. Because the chromosome number of a species remains the same from one generation to the next, the chromosome number of germ cells must be reduced by half during meiosis. To accomplish this feat, meiosis, unlike mitosis, involves a single round of DNA replication followed by two rounds of cell division. Meiosis also differs from mitosis in that it involves a process known as recombination, during which chromosomes exchange segments with one another. As a result, the gametes produced during meiosis are genetically unique.” https://lnkd.in/dBpemgQ View in LinkedIn

ANEUPLOIDY. "Errors in the transmission of chromosomes during either meiosis or mitosis can lead to aneuploidy; that is, an aberrant number of chromosomes." http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0092867403000837 View in LinkedIn

SO ENDS this curated dip into biological resource allocation. While Darwinian competition for limited resources has been documented at the ecological, population, cellular and intracellular level, it comes as no surprise that it exists at molecular levels also. The triumph of the fittest at each level must have different drivers. At the molecular level it must be reaction kinetics based on molecular shapes, while at population levels it is about successfully generating viable offspring. At what point competition and cooperation overlap is the interesting question. View in LinkedIn

TWO CELL DIVISION TYPES. "Mitosis and meiosis are two different types of cell division cycles with entirely different outcomes with definite biological implication for almost all eukaryotic species." https://lnkd.in/d8cXuPE View in LinkedIn

CHEMICAL DARWINIAN COMPETITION. “In recent years, an extension of the Darwinian framework is being considered for the study of prebiotic chemical evolution, shifting the attention from homogeneous populations of naked molecular species to populations of heterogeneous, compartmentalized and functionally integrated assemblies of molecules.” https://lnkd.in/d-UDSAh View in LinkedIn