ArticleIntegrative and comparative biology2026
Navigating the Semantic Labyrinth of "Sex" in the Study of Reproductive Trait Evolution.
Article in Integrative and comparative biology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed.
- Evolution, Development, and the Incoherence of Sex: A Framework for Multiple Sex Concepts.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Hermaphrodite, Gonochorist, and More: Navigating the Complexities of Sex-Related Language in Biology.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Review
- Synthesizing Sex/es Across Scales and Lineages: Centering Plants, Algae, Fungi, Protists, and Modular Metazoans.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Teaching Accurate Sex-related Biology: Approaches for More Socially Just Instruction.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
- Centering Biodiversity: Integrating the Complexity of Sex Into a Developmental Biology Course.Integrative and comparative biology · 2026Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
19 authors.
Funding
Abstract
"Sex" is a compound of many different concepts that contribute to a multiplicity of meanings. As a result, "sex" appears in a wide range of scientific research for different purposes, from describing a process of recombination and cell division to systems of categorising individuals. Identifying the meaning of "sex" in any particular context requires understanding the construction of contributing component concepts and their relationship with one another. We offer the metaphor of a labyrinth to describe the process of interpreting the meaning "sex" and uncovering its context-dependent purpose. In this way, the meanings of "sex" related to "sexual reproduction", "sex types", "sex determination", and/or "sexual systems" can be elucidated by identifying how these concepts relate to suppositions about what properties of "recombination, "meiosis", "syngamy", or "gametes" are present and to which aspects of a trait, individual, or lineage they apply. By denoting "sex" and related terminology within quotation marks, we emphasise the contextualism of language in the theory and practise of research and resultant knowledge about the natural world. The structure of a labyrinth reflects the incredible capacity of "sex" to describe the diversity and disparity of eukaryotic reproductive strategies. The analytical framework of the labyrinth highlights that different conceptual versions can arise in the consideration of reproductive trait evolution based on the relationships among concepts. Through a critical evaluation of the concepts that contribute to the labyrinth of "sex" across biology, we gain a more nuanced appreciation for the operation of "sex" within scientific knowledge.
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What Socratic holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.