While male reproductive success varied more than female reproductive success overall, huge variability was found between populations; for instance, in monogamous societies, variances in male and female reproductive success were very similar.

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2...

And it's not even true. In Denmark, considered a monogamous society, 1 in 4 men will never have children while only 1 in 8 women never will.

Bateman stands.

If the Modern Sexist Scale is in any way representative of modern social science, these "sciences" are in deep trouble.

The only thing the Modern Sexist Scale really measures it the extent to which the surveyed agrees with the authors of the survey about som gender political issues.

Nonetheless the scale is used seriously in social psychology "research".

The Scale relies on the false assumpation that Modern Western societies are pervaded by hostility towards and only towards women.

So anyone who dares critizise or oppose this idea in answering the scale is labeled a modern sexist.

Basically it goes like this:

Agree with us that there is pervasive sexism against women and that women are being unfairly treated or you are a sexist.

Proufoundly stupid.

An ethanol-fueled spike in grain prices will likely hold, yielding the first sustained increase for corn, wheat and soybean prices in more than three decades, according to new research by two University of Illinois farm economists.

Corn, an ethanol ingredient that has driven the recent price surge, could average $4.60 a bushel in Illinois, nearly double the average $2.42 a bushel from 1973 to 2006, said Darrel Good and Scott Irwin, professors of agriculture and consumer economics.

Here is some interesting "research":

Some people have trouble indulging, and they regret it later. There's hope for those people, according to a new study in the Journal of Consumer Research.

While many people have no trouble treating themselves to luxury items or relaxing vacations, others have trouble spending on anything they don't perceive is a necessity. Those people are called "hyperopic," because they focus so much on the future they don't see the present. Authors Kelly L. HawsTexas A&M Universityversity) and Cait Poynor (University of Pittsburgh) took a close look at hyperopia and found that, contrary to what's commonly thought, hyperopia is distinct from self-control.

"Past research characterizes behavior as hyperopic if it involves the choice of a restrictive or necessity option over an indulgent but potentially life-enriching choice," explain the authors. "For example, a consumer might choose to study rather than go on a trip with friends over spring break or might use a windfall to pay bills rather than to provide themselves with personally rewarding experiences."

Gender of supervisor influences workers' mental and physical health

A person's gender in a leadership role is associated with their subordinate's mental and physical health according to new research out of the University of Toronto.

Image via EurekAlert

A female wolf spider, Hogna helluo, consuming a male.

Female spiders are voracious predators and consume a wide range of prey, which sometimes includes their mates. A number of hypotheses have been proposed for why females eat males before or after mating. Researchers Shawn Wilder and Ann Rypstra from Miami University in Ohio found, in a study published in the September issue of the American Naturalist, that the answer may be simpler than previously thought. Males are more likely to be eaten if they are much smaller than females, which likely affects how easy they are to catch.

In one species of spider, Hogna helluo, large males were never consumed while small males were consumed 80% of the time. This result was also confirmed when Wilder and Rypstra examined published data from a wide range of spider species. Males are more likely to be eaten in species where males are small relative to females.

Image via Wikipedia

Lager lovers convinced that their beer of choice stands alone should prepare to drink their words this Oktoberfest. New research by geneticists at the Stanford University School of Medicine indicates that the brew, which accounts for the majority of commercial beer production worldwide, owes its existence to an unlikely pairing between two species of yeast - one of which has been used for thousands of years to make ale.

The research offers a fascinating glimpse into the early history of beer brewing, as well as an unheralded sneak peek at the early days of the evolution of a new yeast species. Then, as now, brewers reused yeast in several successive fermentation batches, unconsciously selecting for the traits that made the most desirable beer.

"These long-ago brewers were practicing genetics without even knowing it," said geneticist Gavin Sherlock, PhD. "They've given us a very interesting opportunity to look at a relatively young, rapidly changing species, as well as some very good beer." The research will be published online Sept. 11 in Genome Research.

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

There are huge amounts of money involved in anything that can be related to climate change. I guess researchers in various fields are waking up to this fact.

The growing intensity of the debate on climate change, and on the appropriate response from governments and individuals, means there is an ever greater need to engage specialists from as many fields as possible in the debate on environmental policy.

The journal Interdisciplinary Science Reviews has just made a special issue on climate change in which the historian Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie calls for more involvement from researchers in fields not directly related to climate change.

Young Dane Michael Schantz Klausen - from a high school in Lyngby, near Copenhagen, Denmark - has received a prestigious price at the Open Chinese Championship for Young Researchers.

To pay tribute to Darwin I propose that we make year 2009 an international Darwin Beard Year. So grow your beards gentlemen!