Subscribe now
Sorry Darwin, but it turns out promiscuity benefits females too

Sorry Darwin, but it turns out promiscuity benefits females too

9 March 2022

The female of the species has incorrectly been cast as a coy and submissive Victorian housewife. This couldn't be further from the truth, says Lucy Cooke


Bottlenose dolphins swim off the coast of South Carolina

What dolphins reveal about the evolution of the clitoris

10 January 2022

Patricia Brennan's latest research suggests that bottlenose dolphins have clitorises that evolved for pleasure. She tells New Scientist why it's important to study animal genitalia


chromosomes

A species of yeast produces near-identical clones when it has sex

4 May 2021

Saccharomycodes ludwigii is a sexually reproducing species, but it doesn’t mix up its genes before it mates – which means offspring end up being almost identical to the parents


sea turtle hatchlings

Why climate change is creating more female sea turtles and crocodiles

19 February 2020

As the world gets warmer, animals whose sex is determined by temperature are finding cool ways to control their own fate. But can they adapt in time?


Researchers have many theories about the function of female orgasm

Female orgasm may have evolved from a trigger for ovulation

30 September 2019

A study that gave antidepressants to rabbits suggests that female orgasm may be evolutionarily linked to a mechanism for triggering the release of eggs


Judith Mank: Why do we have sex?

Judith Mank: Why do we have sex?

19 November 2018

Evolutionary biologist Judith Mank explores the purpose of sex, and why its evolution can lead to males and females that look and behave differently.


Pacific crickets on Moloka’i are singing a new tune

Crickets rapidly evolve new mating call to evade their parasites

29 October 2018

In Hawaii, parasitic flies target singing crickets, forcing them to rapidly evolve to escape detection. Now some males have developed a special, seductive purr


Male peacocks can make females' heads vibrate at a distance

Male peacocks can make females' heads vibrate at a distance

18 June 2018

Peahens have fan-shaped crests on their heads, and it seems males can make these crests resonate by making a specific noise with their tails


Chimp evolution was shaped by sex with their bonobo relatives

Chimp evolution was shaped by sex with their bonobo relatives

24 May 2018

Some chimpanzee populations gained useful DNA from interbreeding with bonobos, and one may even have become more gentle and “bonobo-like” in its brain structure and behaviour


A fossil may rewrite the story of how plants first lived on land

A fossil may rewrite the story of how plants first lived on land

30 April 2018

A plant fossil that lay unnoticed for a century is unexpectedly large for something so old, and it could upend our ideas about the evolution of land plants


Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up
Piano Exit Overlay Banner Mobile Piano Exit Overlay Banner Desktop