Reproductive strategy drives slower female aging

The aging of males and females is influenced by how they choose to invest their available energy, according to a study of fruit flies carried out at Linköping University, Sweden. The results, published in The American Naturalist, ...

Fussy fruit flies can detect bad genes

Researchers at The University of Western Australia have demonstrated the sexual attractiveness of male fruit flies isn't just about how big they are or how nice they smell; it's also about how many mutations they carry.

Evolved illusion—blackest black gives bird of paradise an edge

The mating display of the male bird of paradise owes its optical extravagance to a background so black it is the envy of telescope and solar panel engineers, according to a new study published Jan. 9 in the journal Nature ...

Genes don't always dictate that 'boys will be boys'

As an evolutionary biologist focusing on animal behaviour, I'm sometimes asked what relevance our research has for human behaviour. Years ago, I would duck the question because it was such a passionately polarising, political ...

Darwin was right: Females prefer sex with good listeners

Almost 150 years after Charles Darwin first proposed a little-known prediction from his theory of sexual selection, researchers have found that male moths with larger antennae are better at detecting female signals.

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