Stress, infertility and naked molerats.

Some interesting research has recently revealed that the naked molerat, a tiny primate living in harsh desert conditions deliberately causes infertility in the females by harassing them. The stress stops them ovulating and prevents pregnancy. There is one queen who produces young and the rest of the colony are free to protect the tribe rather than engage in energy consuming reproduction. This allows the species to carve out a niche in a very hostile environment.

The females are deliberately bullied; literally pushed around to prevent them being fertile. As the molerats are also primates, the scientists have concluded that, there may be implications for humans, stress and fertility. To read the whole article; paste the URL below into your browser.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070702145639.htm