[NEWS]
A new review provides intriguing insights on parthenogenesis, or virgin birth, in snakes. Interestingly, facultative parthenogenesis, or asexual reproduction in an otherwise sexually reproducing species, appears to be quite common among snakes and may represent a potentially important feature of vertebrate evolution. On the other hand, obligate parthogenesis—when organisms exclusively reproduce through asexual means—is extremely rare in snakes. While researchers'…