Sex, features and articles | Educational Science

Aug 31, 2011

Why Are More Boys Born Than Girls?

Worldwide, there are 107 boy babies born for every 100 girl babies. This skewed ratio is partly due to sex-selective abortion and gendercide, the killing of female infants, in countries such as China and India where males are more desired. But even discounting those factors, the completely natural male-to-female sex...

May 31, 2011

How Likely Is Your Partner to Cheat?

A fear of sexual failure combined with a lack of concern about sexual consequences makes both men and women more likely to cheat on their partners, a new study finds. While it may seem counterintuitive that someone with performance anxiety would seek out something extra on the side, insecure cheaters...

Jul 31, 2012

Evolutionary Battle of the Sexes Drives Human Height

For women looking to pass on their genes, it pays to be short. For men, tall is the ideal. The result? An evolutionary tug-of-war in which neither gender reaches their perfect height. Those are the results of a new study published today (Aug. 7) in the journal Biology Letters. The...

May 31, 2012

New Moms Reveal the Truth About Postpartum Sex

Starting up sex again after the birth of a child can be a fraught issue for new parents. Now, a new study finds that much of what drives women's desire in the postpartum period are not physical factors, but psychological ones. In many cases, social factors such as spousal support...

Jan 31, 2012

How to Wear a Condom: Errors Common, Study Finds

Condoms can't prevent unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease if they're used incorrectly. Unfortunately, a new review of research finds that condom use errors are all too common. Some of the most frequent mistakes include putting a condom on partway through intercourse or taking it off before intercourse is over,...

Oct 31, 2013

Bisexuality Seen by Some As Illegitimate, Study Finds

Bisexuals are people who are sexually attracted to both men and women. But not everyone believes they exist, new research finds. Nearly 15 percent of adults in a new survey declared bisexuality not a legitimate sexual orientation, according to a study presented Tuesday (Nov. 5) at the annual meeting of...

Oct 31, 2013

Women Act Like Men When They Switch Seats at Speed Dating (Op-Ed)

This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to LiveScience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. On a TV show or in a movie, if a guy and a girl are at a party and one approaches the other to strike up a conversation, chances are...

Sep 30, 2013

Kissing May Be Evolution's Matchmaker

You've got to kiss a lot of frogs to find your prince, as the saying goes. New research suggests the cliché is true on an evolutionary level. Kissing might have evolved as a way to assess the quality of potential mates, according to two new studies. Women, who tend to...

Sep 30, 2013

Sexercise? Getting Busy Burns Calories, Study Finds

Updated on Monday, Oct. 28, at 11:17 a.m. ET. Does sex count as exercise? Good news: It might. A new study finds that, in young people, sex burns an average of 4.2 calories a minute for men and 3.1 calories a minute for women. That intensity is moderate, the researchers...

May 31, 2013

Sexual Images Sway Conservative Guys Toward Risk

Sexually conservative men are more swayed by sexual images than more adventurous dudes, according to a new study that might help explain why the sexually conservative, paradoxically, tend to take sexual risks. The study suggests that men who have no intention of having casual sex nevertheless become more willing to...

Dec 31, 2012

Daddy's Sexism May Influence Daughter's Ambitions

NEW ORLEANS — Dads who have egalitarian ideas about gender — and who walk the talk by doing household chores themselves — have daughters with higher workplace ambitions than less egalitarian fathers do, new research finds. The research is correlational, so it doesn't prove that fathers' attitudes are the cause...

Jul 31, 2014

Why Is Symmetry So Sexy? It Has Nothing to Do with Health

Facial symmetry is sexy, but perhaps not for the reasons scientists had long thought. Humans have such a strong preference for faces and bodies that are symmetrical that evolutionary psychologists and other researchers who study human behavior have long theorized that symmetry might be a signal of good health. But...

Jun 30, 2014

Erectile Dysfunction in Military Males Is Triple the Norm

Men age 40 and younger who are enlisted in the U.S. military are three times more likely to have erectile dysfunction (ED) than civilian men of similar age, but few military men report receiving treatment, according to a new study. The study, one of the first assessments of sexual-functioning problems...

May 31, 2014

Gay Men Who Use Hook-Up Apps Have Higher STD Risk

Gay men who hook up by using smartphone apps may be at higher risk for some sexually transmitted infections than men who find sexual partners through online dating, or in bars and clubs, a new study suggests. In the study, which involved gay and bisexual men, those who used smartphone...

Apr 30, 2014

Circumcision Complications Are Very Rare, Study Finds

The percentage of boys in the United States who develop complications related to circumcision is less than 0.5 percent, according to a large new study. The risk is the lowest for newborns, but increases 10 to 20 times for boys who are circumcised after age 1, the researchers also found....