Toupee or Not Toupee?: Cranial Hair and Perceptions of Men’s Attractiveness, Personality, and Other Evolutionary Relevant Traits

The question of whether or not cranial hair affects perceptions of attractiveness, personality, career success, and other traits related to fitness for men in two populations was investigated in two experiments. Experiment 1 used a 2 (race) × 2 (cranial hair of man) design, and examined attractiveness, fitness, and socially desirable personality measures. Experiment 2 used a 2 (race) × 2 (cranial hair) design to determine perceived attractiveness, fitness-related traits, and the Big-5 dimensions of personality. Amount of cranial hair did not affect personality ratings on the dimensions of the Big-5 but did affect perceived socially desired aspects of personality (such as warmth, sophistication, kindness, etc.). In Experiment 1, the White man with hair received higher perceived attractiveness, personality, and fitness ratings than the bald White man, while no differences occurred for the Black men. For Experiment 2

On a pedestal: High heels and the perceived attractiveness and evolutionary fitness of women

We analyzed the responses of 448 participants who completed questions on attractiveness and other evolutionary fitness related traits, and long- and short-term mating potential, of a woman in either high heeled or flat shoes. We hypothesized that the woman in high heels would be rated as more attractive and evolutionarily fit by both men and women, and preferred for short-term mating by men. The hypothesis was partially supported. The woman in high heels was perceived as being more sexually attractive, physically attractive, feminine, and of a higher status. Additionally, women rated women as having a higher status regardless of the shoe, than men, while men rated women as having higher short- and long-term mating potential, than women did, regardless of the shoe. We discuss the implications of these findings

If you leave, don\u27t leave now: The role of gender, sociosexuality, and fear of being single on desire to engage in breakup sex

Experiencing a romantic breakup is often a complicated and emotional experience, and in many cases, this emotional ambivalence leads to people having “breakup sex” with their ex-partners. To better understand this complicated relationship stage, we sampled 987 single adults to understand how individual differences in sociosexuality and fear of being single predict one\u27s desire to have breakup sex and previous breakup sex experience. We observed that both men and women who reported more unrestricted sociosexual orientations reported greater desire for breakup sex. However, women—but not men—who reported greater fear of being single reported a greater desire for breakup sex. Lastly, those who reported a more unrestricted sociosexual orientation were more likely to have had breakup sex in the past. Results suggest that both men\u27s and women\u27s desire for casual sex impacts engagement in breakup sex and that women\u27s desire is also motivated by their fear of being single

Integrated genomic characterization of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma

We performed integrated genomic, transcriptomic, and proteomic profiling of 150 pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) specimens, including samples with characteristic low neoplastic cellularity. Deep whole-exome sequencing revealed recurrent somatic mutations in KRAS, TP53, CDKN2A, SMAD4, RNF43, ARID1A, TGFβR2, GNAS, RREB1, and PBRM1. KRAS wild-type tumors harbored alterations in other oncogenic drivers, including GNAS, BRAF, CTNNB1, and additional RAS pathway genes. A subset of tumors harbored multiple KRAS mutations, with some showing evidence of biallelic mutations. Protein profiling identified a favorable prognosis subset with low epithelial-mesenchymal transition and high MTOR pathway scores. Associations of non-coding RNAs with tumor-specific mRNA subtypes were also identified. Our integrated multi-platform analysis reveals a complex molecular landscape of PDAC and provides a roadmap for precision medicine

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Semen Displacement as a Sperm Competition Strategy in Humans

We examine some of the implications of the possibility that the human penis may have evolved to compete with sperm from other males by displacing rival semen from the cervical end of the vagina prior to ejaculation. The semen displacement hypothesis integrates considerable information about genital morphology and human reproductive behavior, and can be used to generate a number of interesting predictions

The Impact of Prior Heterosexual Experiences on Homosexuality in Women

An abundance of unwanted sexual opportunities perpetrated by insensitive, physically and sexually abusive men may be a factor in the expression of homosexuality in some women. In the present study, we examined self-reports of dating histories, sexual experiences, and physical and sexual abuse among lesbians and heterosexual women. Lesbians with prior heterosexual experience reported more severe and more frequent physical abuse by men. Lesbians also reported more instances of forced, unwanted sexual contact perpetrated by men, and this sexual abuse occurred at a significantly earlier age. These data show that adverse experiences with the opposite sex are more common in lesbians than heterosexual women, and therefore negative heterosexual experiences may be a factor in the expression of a same-sex sexual orientation in women. We propose an evolutionary psychological interpretation of this phenomenon based on the cardinally different mating strategies of women and men that have evolved for maximizing the likelihood of reproduction