“I haven’t had sex for 40 million years. Should I worry?”

Most writers wouldn’t be pleased to see their name in a national newspaper next to the headline “I haven’t had sex for 40 million years. Should I worry?” But what are science writers, if not a little strange... The headline adorns my latest feature, which appears in today’s issue of of Eureka, the monthly science magazine from the Times. It’s about a group of animals called bdelloid rotifers that have lived a completely asexual existence for at least 40 million years, and potentially up to 100 million. The piece is part of Eureka’s sex issue, including some great features on spontaneous sex changes by Hannah Devlin and what it’s like to be a sex researcher by Petra Boynton. I pitched the article because sex, for all its fascinating and relatable human aspects, is one of the most interesting topics in evolutionary biology. Rotifers provide a perfect hook for exploring it; ...