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.

Sexually deceptive spider orchids fool wasps

Scientists at The University of Western Australia, in collaboration with researchers from The Australian National University, have uncovered the chemical compounds used by a species of spider orchid (Caladenia) to sexually ...

One simple molecule regulates sexual behavior in Drosophila

The common vinegar fly Drosophila melanogaster is a very well-studied animal. For decades, the fly has been used as a model organism in genetic research; its genome was fully sequenced in 2000. However, until now researchers ...

Females butterflies can smell if a male butterfly is inbred

The mating success of male butterflies is often lower if they are inbred. But how do female butterflies know which males to avoid? New research reveals that inbred male butterflies produce significantly less sex pheromones, ...

Researchers discover how sex pheromones evolved in wasps

You may want to ramp up your romance this year by sharing a candlelight dinner, a walk on the beach, or even the scent of a perfume, but will that help you find your perfect mate? For one wasp species, it only takes a whiff ...

Pheromone helps mice remember where to find a mate

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that male mice produce a pheromone that provokes females and competitor males to remember a preference for the place where the pheromone was previously encountered.

Gateway enzyme for chemicals from catnip to cancer drug

Scientists have discovered an enzyme used in nature to make powerful chemicals from catnip to a cancer drug, vinblastine. The discovery opens up the prospect of producing these chemicals cheaply and efficiently.

page 2 from 4