Sex

Two wood-feeding cockroaches (Salganea taiwanensis). The one on the left is missing it's wings after the mutual wing-eating behavior. The one on the right has it's wings intact.

These Cockroaches Mate for Life. Their Secret? Mutual Sexual Cannibalism

Both males and females will munch on each other’s wings after sex, a behavior that may encourage lifelong partnership

A patient holds a sample test tube for Chlamydia testing.

How Covid-19 Has Hurt the Effort to Track STDs

As gonorrhea, syphilis and chlamydia have hit their highest marks in decades, many STD contact tracers have shifted to work on the pandemic

A male wrinkle-faced bat (Centurio senex) seen dangling from his perch. Beneath his chin is a furry skin fold that he pulls up to cover the lower half of the face like a mask during courtship.

These Bats Mask Up to Woo Mates

Male wrinkle-faced bats use a furry neck flap to cover their faces while serenading the opposite sex in never-before-seen behavior

The age-of-consent campaigns of the 1880s and 1890s represent a vital yet little-known chapter in the history of suffrage.

What Raising the Age of Sexual Consent Taught Women About the Vote

Before many women could vote in the United States, they lobbied male legislators to change statutory rape laws and gained political skills in the process

The comparatively massive female anglerfish (Melanocetus johnsonii) with her tiny mate permanently fused to her belly.

Anglerfish Drop Their Immune Defenses to Find Love

Male anglerfish are major clingers. To avoid mistaking mates as foreign tissue, the deep sea couples lost part of their immune system in evolution

A male lemur with clearly visible scent glands on its wrists.

For Male Lemurs, Love Stinks—and Scientists Now Know Why

A newly identified trio of chemicals may help the primates find a mate

Archaeologist Kate Kolwicz examines fragments of late 19th-century Chinese pottery unearthed in downtown Missoula.

Remnants of a 19th-Century Red-Light District and Chinatown Unearthed in Montana

A trove of artifacts reveals the town of Missoula's remarkable and diverse past

John Addington Symonds, whose 1873 essay "A Problem in Greek Ethics" helped lay the foundation for the modern gay rights movement

Researchers Recover an Early Copy of a 19th-Century Gay Rights Essay

This once-lost copy of "A Problem in Greek Ethics" is only the sixth of its kind

Sandro Botticelli's "Birth of Venus" finds its subject striking a contrapposto pose

Why Viewers Are Drawn to Renaissance Artists' Go-To Pose

A new study finds that the contrapposto stance reduces the waist-to-hip ratio, an attribute popularly associated with attractiveness

Female (left) and male (right) black widow spiders

Male Black Widow Spiders Find Potential Mates by Following Other Suitors’ Trails

Although this strategy may seem counterintuitive, researchers say speedy tracking is an important factor in successful courtship

After a queen ant successfully mates with multiple males, she chews off her wings, returns to the ground and starts a new colony

Swarms of Flying Ants Overtaking Great Britain Show Up as Rain on Radar

Once a year, the winged insects take to the skies and engage in mating rituals

A digitally-colorized scanning electron micrograph depiction of a Giardia lamblia protozoan caught in a late stage of cell division, producing a heart-shaped form. Most protozoa, or singled-celled eukaryotes, reproduce asexually, but there is evidence to suggest Giardia lamblia can reproduce sexually as well.

The Evolution of Sex Could Have Provided a Defense Against Cancer Cells

The first sexually reproducing organisms may have found that the energy-intensive enterprise bolstered defenses against malignant cells

Bonobo Mothers Interfere in Their Sons' Monkey Business

They find suitable mates for their offspring and chase away intruders once the mating begins, boosting fertility rates

Carolee Schneemann, "Eye Body #11," 1963

Carolee Schneemann Pioneered the Way Women's Bodies Were Seen

The multidisciplinary artist, who died this month at 79, used her body as a canvas to produce works that celebrated female sexuality

While testosterone plays a significant role in fetal development, it is not the only hormone that influences masculinization.

In Addition to Testosterone, Another Hormone Is Vital for Early Male Development

A hormone called androsterone, produced in the placenta and other organs, plays a role in fetal development in the womb

Interior of the British Library in London

The British Library’s Dirtiest Books Have Been Digitized

The collection includes around 2,500 volumes and many, many double entendres

A City Frog's Love Song Attracts More Mates Than Countryside Croaks

Fewer predators and heightened competition for mates allowed urban tungara frogs to add more notes and frills to their calls, with big results Read more: h

Ganymedes and the heron.

Recently Unearthed Roman Latrine Was Full of Dirty Jokes

Mosaics uncovered in a Roman bathroom in modern-day Turkey reminds us that bathroom humor has ancient roots

Ants and honey bees have been observed reproducing without males before, and now all-female termite colonies join the asexual group.

All-Female Termite Colonies Reproduce Without Male Input

These insects seem to have dispensed entirely of the need for males and their sperm

This pipefish couple may seem the picture of romance, but the male may have something bigger and better in mind.

Pregnant Male Pipefish Are the Sea's Swaggery Swingers

Male pipefish, which take on the burden of carrying eggs to term, can compromise their own pregnancies if they see a “huge, sexy female” swimming by

Page 4 of 9