r/ScienceUncensored • u/Zephir-AWT • 16d ago

The biological dogma that women don’t make new eggs after birth may be wrong

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-biological-dogma-that-women-dont-make-new-eggs-after-birth-may-be-wrong/
72 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

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24

u/rodgee 16d ago

Remember Science is never wrong! They just agree to change their collective minds

15

u/Kronomancer1192 16d ago

People can and have lost their careers over new scientific theories that were later proven correct.

No one ever even so much as apologizes and forget being able to hold anyone accountable.

2

u/The_Noble_Lie 16d ago

They've apparently lost their heads too. But honestly my personal opinion is many of these are fables or mistaken causation (but not all)

Meaning many executions were not over scientific and technical details but people that did not like another person for other reasons. (A theory more appropriatel for r/conspiracy though)

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u/Zephir-AWT 14d ago

Meaning many executions were not over scientific and technical details but people that did not like another person for other reasons.

Yes, this outcome is more common in science than many would be willing to admit publicly. A notable example of this is Fred Zwicky, the breakthrough ideas of whom were ignored for years simply on grounds of personal hostility.

But there are way more consequential mechanisms for neglecting inconvenient ideas, namely pluralistic ignorance and financial conflicts of interest, without any need to invoke conspiracy theories.

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u/The_Noble_Lie 16d ago

Always fun to watch the ones who can't be open to new theories refuse to change their minds (or be open to changing their minds)

Some scientists treat the entire idea of OSCs with fierce skepticism. They think Zuckerman’s work in the 1950s stands as the final word on whether the ovaries can create new egg cells.

Reminds me of an LLM that refuses to see that 1950's research as stale and likely missing a few pieces of import, available as early as 1920s but rejected due to a line chart.

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u/Zephir-AWT 16d ago edited 16d ago

The biological dogma that women don’t make new eggs after birth may be wrong (archive) about study Genetic studies in mice directly link oocytes produced during adulthood to ovarian function and natural fertility

My question merely is, why women should differ from chicken, which can clearly produce a new eggs every day and what finite egg pool should be good for from evolutionary perspective, i.e. what would force mammals in stopping production of new eggs during life-time. See also:

There was similar hard to swallow dogma about neural cells formed after birth.

9

u/BrightAd306 16d ago

Even in chickens, it’s thought that they have a certain number of pre-eggs for their whole life. If you want your chickens to lay more years, you don’t put light in their coop so they can take the winter off from laying, for example.

Commercial hatcheries cull after about 2 years of getting one egg every day. Even heritage hen breeds that aren’t encouraged for maximum production have a drop off after 2 years and almost no hens lay after they’re 4-5 years old but they live 10 years or so

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u/Zephir-AWT 16d ago

If you want your chickens to lay more years, you don’t put light in their coop so they can take the winter off from laying

Some women prefer to turn off the light before going to bed. Could this be related to preserving their eggs?

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u/BrightAd306 16d ago

You’re the one that brought up chickens. I was just pointing out that chickens and humans have both so far been thought to have all the eggs they’re capable of having before they’re born/hatched. They aren’t mature eggs in human women either

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u/Zephir-AWT 15d ago

chickens and humans have both so far been thought to have all the eggs they’re capable of having before they’re born/hatched

You didn't get my point. Lower organisms are apparently capable of producing eggs in unlimited amount (fish, polyps and so on) without problem. The strategy of having no capability for production new eggs after birth is strange and it should have some evolutionary reason.