Evolution: how Victorian sexism influenced Darwin's theories – new research

By Matthew Wills, Professor of Evolutionary Palaeobiology at the Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath

Sex is an expensive business, biologically speaking. Finding a suitable mate takes time and energy. Offspring are also a huge investment of resources. But sex does offer a rewarding possibility: children who are fitter than their parents thanks to new and “better” combinations of genes. Darwin realised that many animal species therefore carefully select their mates.

There is an innate biological inequality, however. Eggs are relatively few in number – a large and costly investment – while sperm are small and vastly more abundant. And embryos often need further investment in the body…

Read complete article

~	Indigenous women are most affected by domestic violence but have struggled to be heard. It’s time we listened

~	With Pause, US Joins Other States Stopping Arms Transfers to Israel

~	UN expert raises alarm over unfair treatment of pro-Palestinian student protesters in US

~	Germany: British-Palestinian Doctor Denied Schengen Entry

~	Love is the driving force behind the cries, the marches and the search for our disappeared loved ones

~	A jacket, a coin, a letter − relics of Omaha Beach battle tell the story of D-Day 80 years later

~	Lassa fever case in Paris: what you need to know

~	Mexico’s criminal gangs stir up political violence ahead of election season

~	AI system can predict the structures of life’s molecules with stunning accuracy – helping to solve one of biology’s biggest problems

~	I’ve spent decades overseeing relief operations around the world, and here’s what’s going wrong in Gaza