Birdsong plays a vital social role in the lives of these gregarious finches.
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
Richard Border, University of California, Los Angeles e Noah Zaitlen, University of California, Los Angeles
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.
We’ll probably be less aggressive and more agreeable, but have smaller brains – a bit like a Golden Retriever, we’ll be friendly, but maybe not that interesting or bright.
How can researchers tell if male and female dinosaurs, like the stegosaur, were different?
Susannah Maidment et al. & Natural History Museum, London
The lack of large numbers of fossils makes it hard to study sexual dimorphism in dinosaurs. But a new statistical approach offers insight into this question and others across science.
Males elephant seals dwarf their female counterparts.
Sean Lema/Shutterstock
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
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.
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
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.
Biologists investigated whether birds that search for multiple mates would evolve ever more elaborate songs to attract them. What they found might have surprised Darwin.
The view that sex-selective abortion is unethical is widely shared. But those who propose to use the law to prevent it need to supply a clear, compelling moral justification.
Super-black feathers on these guys are like looking into a dark cave.
Natasha Baucas
Male Birds of Paradise have patches of super-black plumage that absorb 99.95 percent of light. New research identified their feathers’ microscopic structures that make them look so very dark.
Victorian attitudes influenced what scientists thought they were observing about sexual behaviors in the animal world. But modern techniques reveal the myth for what it is.
Bearded dragons can be genetically male but look like and function as females.
Arthur Georges, Institute for Applied Ecology, University of Canberra
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?