http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. An international team lead by the University of Granada has found that female sparrows will invest more energy into laying eggs according to the male's ability to fill the nest with feathers which serve to insulate the chicks from the cold and keep them alive. http://phys.org/news287130438.html Biology Tue, 07 May 2013 07:27:25 EST news287130438 In the bird world, male and female blue tits are hard to distinguish for the human observer. However, in the UV-range, visible to birds, the male is much more colourful. A closer look at the monogamous mating system of these birds again reveals that all is not what it seems: in every second nest there are chicks that are not related to the care-giving father. An already mated male can increase the number of his offspring by siring extra-pair offspring in other nests than the one he cares for with his mate. Emmi Schlicht and Bart Kempenaers of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen investigated whether this could be the driving force behind the evolution of sexual dimorphism. However, their findings suggest that effects of extra-pair paternity are limited, and cuckoldry can even reduce the intensity of sexual selection. http://phys.org/news284201887.html Biology Wed, 03 Apr 2013 09:58:14 EST news284201887 We know the benefits of laughter on health. But why do we laugh? What are the evolutionary origins of laughter and humour? Steven Légaré has asked these questions and has made them the subject of his master's thesis, which he recently submitted to the Université de Montréal's Department of Anthropology. http://phys.org/news283589197.html Other Sciences Wed, 27 Mar 2013 08:10:05 EST news283589197 Scientists have used genetic testing on animals that died of natural causes for the first time, potentially boosting efforts to save endangered species. http://phys.org/news281688599.html Biology Tue, 05 Mar 2013 07:10:01 EST news281688599 Detecting sexual selection in the fossil record is not impossible, according to scientists writing in Trends in Ecology and Evolution this month, co-authored by Dr Darren Naish of the University of Southampton. http://phys.org/news278671376.html Biology Tue, 29 Jan 2013 08:43:12 EST news278671376 (Phys.org)—Social networks can be used to describe the sexual interactions in animal populations and reveal which individuals are directly competing in the 'mating game', according to new Oxford University research. http://phys.org/news278058875.html Biology Tue, 22 Jan 2013 06:34:56 EST news278058875 Two new species of cichlid fish from Lake Victoria are described by biologists from Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Research Department Marine Zoology) and the Institute of Biology Leiden (Section Integrative Zoology), the Netherlands. One of these species is named in honour of Tijs Goldschmidt, author of Darwin's Dreampond. This book, published in nine languages, describes the dramatic extinction of hundreds of cichlid species in Lake Victoria in the 1980s due to the introduced Nile perch and other human induced environmental changes. http://phys.org/news276348159.html Biology Wed, 02 Jan 2013 11:22:48 EST news276348159 Trust rather than lust is at the heart of the attention to detail and finely made form of handaxes from around 1.7 million years ago, according to a University of York researcher. http://phys.org/news272720369.html Other Sciences Wed, 21 Nov 2012 11:39:40 EST news272720369 Sexual selection in the Forked Fungus Beetle favors larger body and horn size, and a new study investigates the relationship between these traits and the beetles' grip strength, which is crucial for the male to hold on to the female and shield her from other males in an elaborate courtship ritual. The full results are reported on Aug. 15 in the open access journal PLoS ONE. http://phys.org/news264263749.html Biology Wed, 15 Aug 2012 17:00:01 EST news264263749 The twinkling of fireflies heralds summer romance for these magical insects. While courting on-the-wing, male fireflies attract females' attention with bioluminescent flashes. http://phys.org/news259921712.html Biology Tue, 26 Jun 2012 09:29:14 EST news259921712 (Phys.org) -- A classic study from more than 60 years ago suggesting that males are more promiscuous and females more choosy in selecting mates may, in fact, be wrong, say life scientists who are the first to repeat the historic experiment using the same methods as the original. http://phys.org/news259903632.html Biology Tue, 26 Jun 2012 04:27:32 EST news259903632 (Phys.org) -- Males of all species have been known to go to extremes to woo a female, but few have gone so far as the male club-winged manakin, a sparrow-sized bird from the forests of Ecuador and Colombia. http://phys.org/news258870214.html Biology Thu, 14 Jun 2012 05:24:02 EST news258870214 A male robin will be more diligent in caring for its young if the eggs its mate lays are a brighter shade of blue. http://phys.org/news256222312.html Biology Mon, 14 May 2012 13:51:59 EST news256222312 In a paper published May 3, in the journal Evolution, University of Cincinnati graduate student Karl Grieshop and Michal Polak, associate professor of biological sciences at UC, examine the role of genital spines in the reproductive success of a species of fruit fly. Their investigation identifies the specific type of advantage these spines bestow in the competition to reproduce. http://phys.org/news255270969.html Biology Thu, 03 May 2012 13:36:40 EST news255270969 New evidence proves humans are continuing to evolve and that significant natural and sexual selection is still taking place in our species in the modern world. http://phys.org/news255019075.html Biology Mon, 30 Apr 2012 15:40:07 EST news255019075 In the animal world, males typically search for their female partners. The mystery is that in some species, you get a reversal -- the females search for males. http://phys.org/news236427798.html Biology Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:23:51 EST news236427798 The gaudy plumage and acrobatic displays of birds of paradise are a striking example of sexual selection, Charles Darwin's second great theory of evolution. But new research shows that this powerful process may collapse when mothers can decide whether to have a son or a daughter. http://phys.org/news235042489.html Biology Mon, 12 Sep 2011 15:00:38 EST news235042489 Do more efficient and faster male birds win females over? New research from the United Kingdom suggests that the rock ptarmigan, the Arctic cousin of the grouse, does. University of Manchester researchers have found that male rock ptarmigans run up to 50% faster than females, making them significantly more efficient and successful at breeding, not to mention better defenders of their territories. Presented in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study indicates that physiology is a determining factor in sexual selection, rather than physical appearance, which is usually the case. http://phys.org/news235030612.html Biology Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:20:01 EST news235030612 While the early bird might catch the worm, it's the quick bird that lands the ladies, according to new research into the running performance of an Arctic cousin of the grouse. http://phys.org/news232774584.html Biology Wed, 17 Aug 2011 04:37:04 EST news232774584 New research has shown that happier orang-utans live longer which may shed light on the evolution of happiness in humans. http://phys.org/news228538618.html Biology Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:57:11 EST news228538618 In many organisms females directly or indirectly select mates (or sperm) and potentially influence the fitness of their offspring. Mate choice and sexual selection in plants is more complex in some ways than in animals because plants are sessile organisms and often have to rely on external vectors, such as animals, for pollen transport. As such, there is only so much a plant can do to affect the timing of pollen arrival, or the size and diversity of deposited pollen. But can a plant control which pollen grains, of the hundreds that land on their stigmas, make it to the ovules? http://phys.org/news228409408.html Biology Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:03:43 EST news228409408 Male peacock tail plumage and courtship antics likely influence their success at attracting and mating with females, according to recent Queen's University research. http://phys.org/news223127175.html Biology Wed, 27 Apr 2011 12:46:41 EST news223127175 Female deer do not always choose the bigger and dominant males to mate with, scientists from Queen Mary, University of London and Hartpury College have found. http://phys.org/news221329976.html Biology Wed, 06 Apr 2011 17:33:08 EST news221329976 Polygamy practiced by some 19th century Mormon men had the curious effect of suppressing the overall offspring numbers of Mormon women in plural marriages, say scientists from Indiana University Bloomington and three other institutions in the March 2011 issue of Evolution and Human Behavior. http://phys.org/news217604978.html Biology Tue, 22 Feb 2011 13:49:56 EST news217604978 (PhysOrg.com) -- When their romantic partners are not quintessentially masculine, women in their fertile phase are more likely to fantasize about masculine-looking men than are women paired with George Clooney types. http://phys.org/news213876884.html Medicine & Health Mon, 10 Jan 2011 10:15:23 EST news213876884 Evidence from Disneyland suggests that human creativity may have evolved not in response to sexual selection as some scientists believe but as a way to help parents bond with their children and to pass on traditions and cultural knowledge, a new study published in the inaugural issue of the International Journal of Tourism Anthropology suggests. http://phys.org/news209039708.html Biology Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:35:29 EST news209039708 For the first time, biologists have described the evolution of the size of a female trait which males use to choose a partner. The research, published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, shows that male cichlid fish prefer females with a larger pelvic fin and that this drives females to grow fins out of proportion with their body size. http://phys.org/news205729754.html Biology Fri, 08 Oct 2010 04:09:29 EST news205729754 Less-pretty female house sparrows tend to lower their aim when selecting a mate. Addressing the lack of studies on condition-dependency of female mate choice, researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology found that female sparrows of a low quality prefer males of an equally low quality. http://phys.org/news202049620.html Biology Thu, 26 Aug 2010 19:00:01 EST news202049620 (PhysOrg.com) -- There's more to what makes a man or woman attractive than mere shape or weight, but what else do we take into account when we make that judgement? http://phys.org/news193063280.html Medicine & Health Fri, 14 May 2010 14:10:01 EST news193063280 (PhysOrg.com) -- Male physical competition, not attraction, was central in winning mates among human ancestors, according to a Penn State anthropologist. http://phys.org/news192973370.html Biology Thu, 13 May 2010 12:43:07 EST news192973370