A sub-breed, Freemartins, are female dragons who were born sterile, and can presumably be of any breed, although the only identified Freemartins (Nesessitas and Alsebra) are both Greens. A third Freemartin named Zed Dek is mentioned, but not identified. Freemartins are generally faster and smarter than other types. Their sterility makes them unable to "fertilize the eggs" as the dragons express it.
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Consequently, freemartins are sterile and are usually slaughtered or sold for beef.
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The West Eugene club will mark the end of pre-Lenten hedonism with a party hosted by the Freemartins, Genus Pro and Papa's Soul Kitchen.
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Of the 42 animals studied, 10 freemartins were found with variable percentages of male and female blood cells, the majority however showing similar percentages of both.
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Also the male co-twins to freemartins are usually considered to be normal and fertile, although a few may have underdeveloped testicles and some may have reduced fertility.
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If someone sold a 6-9 month old heifer at the sale barn I would assume they were intended as feeders, but how would they know that they were freemartins at that young an age?
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The phenomenon of the freemartin, a female bovine that is behaviorally masculine and lacks functioning ovaries, is commonly associated with cattle, but does occur to some extent in sheep. The instance of freemartins in sheep may be increasing in concert with the rise in twinning (freemartins are the result of male-female twin combinations). The Flehmen response is exhibited by rams when they smell the urine of a ewe in oestrous. The vomeronasal organ has receptors which detect the oestrogens in the ewe's urine.
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The male twin is largely unaffected by the fusion, although the size of the testicles may be slightly reduced. Testicle size is associated with fertility, so there may be some reduction in bull fertility. Freemartins behave and grow in a similar way to castrated male cattle (steers).
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Freemartins are occasionally used in stem cell and immunology research. During fetal development cells are exchanged between the fused circulations of the bovine twins. Up to 95% of the freemartin's blood cells can be derived from those of her twin brother. Male-derived cells and their progeny can be easily visualized in the freemartin tissues, as only they contain the male Y chromosome.
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Freemartins are known to have been described by the Roman writer Varro, who called them "taura".EARLY RECOGNITION OF THE FREEMARTIN CONDITION IN HEIFERS TWINBORN WITH BULLS, by W.W. Swett, C.A. Matthews, and R. R. Graves, in the Journal of Agricultural Research, vol. 61, no. 8 (October 15, 1940) The 18th-century physician John Hunter discovered that a freemartin always has a male twin.
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Microchimerism occurs in most pairs of twins in cattle. In cattle (and other bovines), the placentae of fraternal twins usually fuse and the twins share blood circulation, resulting in exchange of cell lines. If the twins are a male–female pair, then XX/XY microchimerism results, and male hormones partially masculinize the heifer (female), creating a martin heifer or freemartin. Freemartins appear female, but are infertile and so cannot be used for breeding or dairy production.
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Ewes have estrus cycles about every 17 days,Wooster, p. 111. during which they emit a scent and indicate readiness through physical displays towards rams. A minority of rams (8% on average) display a preference for homosexuality and a small number of the females that were accompanied by a male fetus in utero are freemartins (female animals that are behaviorally masculine and lack functioning ovaries). In feral sheep, rams may fight during the rut to determine which individuals may mate with ewes.
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She is part of the 30% of the female population that are not freemartins (sterile women). Lenina is promiscuous and popular but somewhat quirky in her society: she had a four-month relation with Henry Foster, choosing not to have sex with anyone but him for a period of time. She is basically happy and well-conditioned, using soma to suppress unwelcome emotions, as is expected. Lenina has a date with Bernard, to whom she feels ambivalently attracted, and she goes to the Reservation with him.
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If suspected, a test can be done to detect the presence of the male Y-chromosomes in some circulating white blood cells of the subject. Genetic testing for the Y-chromosome can be performed within days of birth and can aid in the early identification of a sterile female bovine. Physical examination of the calf may also reveal differences: a subjective assessment is that frequently there is a tuft of hair at the ventral tip of the vulva in a freemartin heifer atypical in fertile heifer calves. Also, often many (but not all) freemartins will have a shortened length of vagina compared with that of a fertile heifer.
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Although all the World State hatcheries attempt to improve the yield of the various production processes, the Mombasa hatchery is a few hundred ahead of the others in the number of embryos produced from a single ovary (London: 16,012, Singapore: approx 16,500, Mombasa: approx 17,000). In addition to racial harmony, gender roles appear to have been eliminated in the World State. Both men and women are equals in society. However, a third pseudo-sex has been engineered: freemartins, a hermaphroditic group of humans who appear to have been grown as, and conditioned to live in society as females, but are sterile and exhibit some male characteristics, including the growth of facial hair.
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The purpose of their creation is to allow citizens to engage in sexual intercourse for pleasure without the constant need for contraception. Despite the existence of Freemartins, contraception is heavily emphasized among the baseline female population, through the deeply- conditioned habitual use of Malthusian Belts. Aging is a thing of the past in the World State. Biological engineering has eliminated the impact of old age upon the human body; using blood transfusions, chemical enhancements, and hormone replacement therapy, as well as the standard devotion to physical sports, people maintain young, strong bodies for the duration of their lives, and do not present any physical indications of old age, even appearing young when they eventually expire from natural causes.
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