We know a lot about why people choose different brands of dishwashing detergent. But when it comes to the processes behind choosing a romantic partner, science knows surprisingly little.
Articles on Evolutionary biology
Displaying 121 - 140 of 187 articles
Embryos greedily want more resources than their fair share. New research investigates how early in evolution their hormonal tactics arose.
Scientists of all kinds turn to computer models to investigate questions they can’t get at any other way. Here’s how models work and why we can trust them.
Your attitudes to risk – from extreme sports to school rugby – are hardwired into you.
We’ve bred them into all shapes and sizes, but dogs haven’t been around for long enough to have evolved beyond Canis familiaris.
The evolutionary history of antibiotic resistance suggests it may be impossible to develop resistance-proof antibiotics so what are our other options?
Science explains why people pick partners who look like their parents – without involving Freud.
Why hunter gatherers weren’t as peaceful as you may think.
You might be surprised to hear that virgin births are possible - just not in humans. By the reason why remains an evolutionary mystery.
Sexual competition has made sperm the most diverse - and fascinating - cells in the animal kingdom.
Cats share some important genes associated with herbivores – this might explain their particular eating habits.
Humans as well as zebra finches go through hurdles to find their perfect partner – and this may better ensure the survival of any offspring.
I sometimes forget that people can feel embarrassed listening to me talk about my research on sperm. But often those same people can also be a source of amazement and inspiration.
We used to think of sharks as primitive fish because the had cartilage instead of bones. Turns out there was a good reason why and it makes them anything but primitive.
Imagine how easy life would be if you could produce offspring without a mate. Sexual reproduction is the most common mating system in the animal kingdom. But in many species, females do not require males…
Behavioral economists have revolutionized the standard view of human nature. No longer are people presumed to be purely selfish, only acting in their own interest. Hundreds of experiments appear to show…
The Y chromosome, that little chain of genes that determines the sex of humans, is not as tough as you might think. In fact, if we look at the Y chromosome over the course of our evolution we’ve seen it…
The intimate act of copulation is old – very old. In fact, it first evolved in ancient armoured placoderm fishes called antiarchs 385 million years ago. Fossils of the antiarch Microbrachius dicki…
Lizards from the deserts of Australia to the tops of mountains in Costa Rica have given us insights into how animals take advantage of their environment to be less cold-blooded. Lizards seek out sunny…
Singld Out, an online dating service based on “cutting-edge” science, has the solution for busy singles to sniff out the perfect companion. Literally. The dating site, in conjunction with a company called…
Top contributors
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Emeritus Strategic Professor in Palaeontology, Flinders University
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Honorary Associate Professor, UNSW
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Senior Lecturer, Centre for Behaviour and Evolution, Newcastle University
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Mark Elgar is a Friend of The Conversation.
Emeritus Professor of Evolutionary and Behavioural Ecology, The University of Melbourne
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Jenny Graves is a Friend of The Conversation.
Distinguished Professor of Genetics and Vice Chancellor's Fellow, La Trobe University
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Postdoctoral Researcher , The University of Melbourne
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Senior lecturer, School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, University of Bristol
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Professor of Avian Behavioural Ecology, Macquarie University
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PhD Researcher, Nature and Function of Human Nonverbal Vocalisations, University of Sussex
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Lecturer, Macquarie University
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Postdoctoral Researcher of Evolutionary Biology, University of Pennsylvania
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Research fellow, University of Sydney
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Sexual health researcher, The University of Melbourne
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Professor of Evolutionary Biology, Université du Québec à Rimouski (UQAR)
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Associate Professor, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland