Male pregnancy in seahorses?!

Yes, you have not mistaken. The closest thing we can relate to is probably, hermaphroditic animals whose reproductive organs are normally associated with both male and female sexes. This is a common phenomenon in snails and slugs, in which both partners can act as the "female" or the "male".

However, we are looking at an unusual event where the male and female counterparts bear opposite responsibilities to what it would normally be perceived as, particularly in reproduction.
The female seahorse would deposit its unfertilized eggs into the male's body, and to be exact, in the brood pouch on its ventral side. After internal fertilization, the pouch provides the necessary nutrients for the embryo to mature. The eggs then hatch in the pouch, before they are being released into the sea. The father protects the young until they are able to survive on their own.

The rarity of such reproduction has unusual implications on the seahorses' mating rituals and behavioral patterns. They are thought to be monogamous, however, it seems that the females have multiple partners, while the males are only able to mate with one female at a time. As opposed from many other species, the female competes for the male in order to mate. After which, she visits him daily for “morning greetings” during gestation. In reminiscence of courtship, they interact for about 6 minutes, and she swims away and returns only the next morning.

Scientist worry over spread of new SUPERBUG

The superbug containing NDM-1 gene, is a newly identified phenomenon which enables bacteria to develop resistance against almost every antibiotic, and has now become a possible threat to the world. The ease of replication and horizontal transfer to and fro cells of different strains has rendered it effective in causing infectious diseases and resistant against treatment. Its presence, commonly detected in gram negative E.coli bacteria cells, has been known to cause urinary tract infection (UTI).

To be more accurate, NDM-1, New Delhi Metallo-beta-lactamase is an enzyme that allows bacteria to be more resistant against beta-lactamase antibiotics.

This superbug gene has been increasingly spotted in areas such as Britain, and has already been circulating in India to say the least. People travel to India for elective procedures such as cosmetic surgery, and return to their native countries carrying the harmful gene. Therefore, the booming medical tourism in places like India and Pakistan could cause a surge in antibiotic resistance, which could massively spread to the rest of the world.



Klebsiella pneumoniae, the bacterium in which NDM-1 was first identified.