Measuring beetles’ naughty parts
WHO: National Science Foundation
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WHAT: Thanks to an NSF grant, two scientists at Indiana University in Bloomington are attempting to determine whether there’s a correlation between the size of the horns on top of the heads of Onthophagus taurus beetles, which are native to Italy, and the length of the insects’ genitalia.
HOW: Researchers Armin Moczek and Harald Parzer want to find out if a trade-off between secondary sexual characters and primary sexual characters drives the evolution of new species — even though most species do not choose mates according to genital size.
WHY IT’S AN OUTRAGE: Aren’t there some deadly diseases we need to cure first?
