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Articles on Sexual selection

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Statistical pitfalls in GWAS can result in misleading conclusions about whether some traits (like long horns or spotted skin, in the case of dinosaurs) are genetically linked. @meanymoo

People don’t mate randomly – but the flawed assumption that they do is an essential part of many studies linking genes to diseases and traits

People don’t randomly select who they have children with. And that means an underlying assumption in research that tries to link particular genes to certain diseases or traits is wrong.
The role of women in futuristic drama TV series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ makes references to Darwin’s writings on evolution. (Shutterstock)

How Darwin’s sexual selection theory co-stars in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’

In the television show ‘The Handmaid’s Tale,’ Charles Darwin’s ‘Descent of Man’ makes a cameo — and its appearance makes a comment on how Gilead functions.
We propose same-sex attraction evolved to allow greater social integration and stronger same-sex social bonds. SHUTTERSTOCK

Homosexuality may have evolved for social, not sexual reasons

Scientists don’t ask how some people evolved to be tall. In the same way, asking how homosexuality evolved is the wrong question. We need to ask how human sexuality evolved in all its forms.
A woman takes a selfie with three others while attending the Vaisakhi Parade in Surrey, B.C., on April 22, 2017. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Punjabi ideas of honour can lead to girl-shaming and prenatal sex selection

Studies suggest a significant proportion of Indian-origin families in Canada are practising female feticide. It is crucial to understand how gender inequality may lead to sex selection.
The recent decriminalisation debates in Australia have included a new focus on partial restrictions on abortions – a strategy that has been very successful in many US states. Joel Carrett/AAP

How the US right-to-life movement is influencing the abortion debate in Australia

The Australian right-to-life movement is tiny compared to the US, but its recent adoption of US-style campaign strategies has given it an outsize voice in the debate here.
This skull belongs to the carnivorous gorgonopsian therapsid Smilesaurus ferox which lived 255 million years ago. Cradle of Humankind/Flickr/Wikimedia

You can thank our pre-mammalian ancestors for your sexy teeth

Modern sabre-tooth mammals have their canines constantly on display. This allows them to seduce mates. But was sexual selection also an important phenomenon among our pre-mammalian ancestors?

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