Men with wide faces are more likely to lie and cheat to get ahead than their narrow-faced brethren, according to new research. However, the study has drawn criticism from psychologists who say it may have…
Why should male genitalia be so variable? This problem has puzzled evolutionary biologists for decades. Even to the experts, it can be difficult to tell closely-related species apart just by looking at…
Human fingers go wrinkly in the bath to give us better grip in the wet, scientists have discovered, contradicting a widely held belief that osmosis is the cause. Wet fingers and toes wrinkle after about…
Welcome to If I had a blank cheque I’d … a new series in which leading researchers reveal what they could do in their discipline if money were no object. Today we hear from Malcolm Walter, professor of…
Infidelity between sexual partners is ubiquitous – almost as prevalent as the tight and long-lasting social bonds that couples form. But thanks to a recent German study of Australian zebra finches, a cheating…
Kurt Cobain was the messiah of my generation, the monumental talent who saved rock from the mediocrity of 1980s cock rock and hair metal. But behind his public eminence stalked a personal hell of addiction…
Welcome to Peer Review, a new series in which we ask leading academics to review books written by people in the same field. Here Mark Elgar, Professor of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Melbourne…
Paleontologists think it had the snout of a crocodile, the claws of a bear and a taste for seafood. But what’s most interesting about the discovery of Australia’s first fish-eating dinosaur is its similarities…
Sex is often viewed as a totally harmonious interaction between a male and female with the same innate goal – to produce offspring. But it is becoming increasingly clear to biologists that the reproductive…
Does climate change seriously threaten to wipe out the human species if left unchecked? Examining our evolutionary past suggests it might once have been the perfect catalyst for our extinction. But now…
Primitive women were more likely than their male counterparts to pack up and leave the cave, eventually partnering with men from further afield, according to a new study published in Nature magazine. By…
It’s the sort of news conservative politicians and commentators latch on to as a sure-fire sign that the end of civilisation is nigh: marriage rates are in continuing decline. But is this really such a…