What's up in

Sex

Latest Articles

How This Marine Worm Can Tell Moonglow From Sunbeams

December 19, 2023

For the first time, scientists have decoded the molecular structure of a protein that helps to sync a biological clock to the phases of the moon.

Q&A

She Studies How Addiction Hijacks Learning in the Brain

December 7, 2023

Erin Calipari works to understand how drugs like opioids and cocaine alter learning circuits and neurochemistry in one of the country's epicenters of substance use disorder and addiction.

sex

A Billion Years Before Sex, Ancient Cells Were Equipped for It

February 16, 2022

Molecular detective work is zeroing in on the origins of sexual reproduction. The protein tools for cell mergers seem to have long predated sex — so what were they doing?

Mating Contests Among Females, Long Ignored, May Shape Evolution

August 2, 2021

Showy male competitions over mating privileges have grabbed scientists’ attention more often, but new work hints that sexual selection is also widespread among females.

Q&A

Catherine Dulac Finds Brain Circuitry Behind Sex-Specific Behaviors

December 14, 2020

Catherine Dulac is overturning preconceptions about “male” and “female” instincts and opening new avenues to treating postpartum depression.

How to Design (or at Least Model) Mixed Dog Breeds

July 31, 2020

Readers simulated the genetics of dog breeding to solve a puzzle about mixed breed percentages and sexual reproduction.

How to Breed a Pomsky and Other Questions About Dogs and Sex

June 18, 2020

Solve a puzzle about mixed dog breeds, sexual reproduction and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Why Sex? Biologists Find New Explanations.

April 23, 2020

Why did sex evolve? Theories usually focus on the diversity of future generations, but some researchers find compelling explanations in the immediate benefits to individuals.

Why Evolution Reversed These Insects’ Sex Organs

January 30, 2019

Among these cave insects, the females evolved to have penises — twice. The reasons challenge common assumptions about sex.

Get highlights of the most important news delivered to your email inbox