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posted by azrael on Friday October 17 2014, @05:30PM   Printer-friendly
from the new-fad-diet-for-men dept.

Researchers at University of Rochester Medical Center report on differences between male and female desires for food and sex:

Choosing between two good things can be tough. When animals must decide between feeding and mating, it can get even trickier. In a discovery that might ring true even for some humans, researchers have shown that male brains – at least in nematodes – will suppress the ability to locate food in order to instead focus on finding a mate.

The results, which appear today in the journal Current Biology, may point to how subtle changes in the brain's circuitry dictate differences in behavior between males and females.

The findings were made in experiments involving C. elegans, a microscopic roundworm that has long been used by researchers to understand fundamental mechanisms in biology. Many of the discoveries made using C. elegans apply throughout the animal kingdom and this research has led to a broader understanding of human biology. In fact, three Nobel Prizes in medicine and chemistry have been awarded for discoveries involving C. elegans.

The Rochester researchers discovered that the sensory mechanisms — called chemoreceptors — of the AWA neurons were regulated by the sexual identity of these cells, which, in turn, controls the expression of a receptor called ODR-10. These receptors bind to a chemical scent that is given off by food and other substances.

In hermaphrodites, more of the ODR-10 receptors are produced, making the worms more sensitive — and thereby attracted — to the presence of food. In males, fewer of these receptors are active, essentially suppressing their ability — and perhaps desire — to find food. However, when males were deprived of food, they produced dramatically higher levels of this receptor, allowing them to temporarily focus on finding food.

An abstract with illustrations is available.

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  • (Score: 4, Funny) by nyder on Friday October 17 2014, @05:53PM

    by nyder (4525) on Friday October 17 2014, @05:53PM (#107100)

    And Cannibals mate before dinner to keep it simple.

  • (Score: 2) by Kromagv0 on Friday October 17 2014, @06:06PM

    by Kromagv0 (1825) on Friday October 17 2014, @06:06PM (#107105) Homepage

    This almost singular focus in males has been known about for a while in other higher animals [wikipedia.org]. I don't think anyone has gone to length to study what chemical changes happen in a buck's brain during this but this seems like it would be a likely explanation.

    --
    T-Shirts and bumper stickers [zazzle.com] to offend someone
  • (Score: 5, Informative) by fliptop on Friday October 17 2014, @06:17PM

    by fliptop (1666) on Friday October 17 2014, @06:17PM (#107112) Journal

    Right now the rut [wikipedia.org] is in full swing, and bucks don't care about anything except banging every doe who's willing and preventing other bucks from doing the same. They're so busy keeping their herd of willing does together they don't have time to eat. After it's been going on for a while the bucks are easier to bow hunt because they're worn out.

    --
    To be oneself, and unafraid whether right or wrong, is more admirable than the easy cowardice of surrender to conformity
    • (Score: 1) by Buck Feta on Friday October 17 2014, @06:49PM

      by Buck Feta (958) on Friday October 17 2014, @06:49PM (#107121) Journal

      > banging every doe who's willing

      Ladies, ladies, ladies, calm yourselves; there's plenty of Buck to go around.

      --
      - fractious political commentary goes here -
      • (Score: 3, Funny) by bob_super on Friday October 17 2014, @07:06PM

        by bob_super (1357) on Friday October 17 2014, @07:06PM (#107125)

        If he's a bit too fast, they'll be disappointed when they hear that the buck stops here.

  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Horse With Stripes on Friday October 17 2014, @06:42PM

    by Horse With Stripes (577) on Friday October 17 2014, @06:42PM (#107117)

    If given the choice between sex and food? I eat at least three times a day ... and most animals eat regularly. Mating is an opportunistic event when compared to eating. The obvious choice is: sex

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @06:53PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @06:53PM (#107122)

      Also: you could probably have a snack "afterwards", but I doubt she would wait for you to finish eating first.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @08:30PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @08:30PM (#107144)

      You are, obviously, a male pig!
      (joke)

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @10:22PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @10:22PM (#107172)

      This is not the most questionable choice a guy will make to get laid.
      Making that choice could be considered normal for any organism consisting of more than 1 cell.[1]
      So, now it's now been confirmed in 1 more species, but there's nothing here that hasn't been known since sexual reproduction evolved.

      The only thing noteworthy is the use of "some" in the title.
      Then again, maybe I hung out with too many nerds and not enough jocks when I was growing up.

      [1] I can only think of 1 possible exception: Seahorses (where the male carries the young until they are born).

      -- gewg_

      • (Score: 1) by pnkwarhall on Saturday October 18 2014, @12:51AM

        by pnkwarhall (4558) on Saturday October 18 2014, @12:51AM (#107218)

        Exception: Seahorses (where the male carries the young until they are born)

        Eh, he wouldn't remember that consequence until it was too late...

        --
        Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
  • (Score: 2) by wonkey_monkey on Friday October 17 2014, @06:53PM

    by wonkey_monkey (279) on Friday October 17 2014, @06:53PM (#107123) Homepage

    Sounds like a good deal any way round.

    --
    systemd is Roko's Basilisk
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @08:24PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday October 17 2014, @08:24PM (#107140)

      We usually just call that dating.

  • (Score: 2) by LoRdTAW on Friday October 17 2014, @07:25PM

    by LoRdTAW (3755) on Friday October 17 2014, @07:25PM (#107127) Journal

    We fixed that problem: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Food_play [wikipedia.org]

  • (Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Friday October 17 2014, @07:45PM

    by tangomargarine (667) on Friday October 17 2014, @07:45PM (#107132)

    There's some species [wikipedia.org] of insects that never even eat during their adult life, just desperately try to mate and then starve within a few days.

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
  • (Score: 2, Funny) by warcques on Friday October 17 2014, @08:05PM

    by warcques (3550) on Friday October 17 2014, @08:05PM (#107134)

    The elegant nematode's behaviour helps us understand _human_ sex differences?

    • (Score: 2, Funny) by khallow on Friday October 17 2014, @09:05PM

      by khallow (3766) Subscriber Badge on Friday October 17 2014, @09:05PM (#107152) Journal
      Well, you can see the near similarity.
  • (Score: 3, Funny) by BradTheGeek on Friday October 17 2014, @08:25PM

    by BradTheGeek (450) on Friday October 17 2014, @08:25PM (#107142)

    Researchers show how you can score more women AND lose wait with this one simple trick!

    • (Score: 2) by aristarchus on Friday October 17 2014, @10:14PM

      by aristarchus (2645) on Friday October 17 2014, @10:14PM (#107169) Journal

      how you can score more women AND lose wait with this one simple trick!

      Not sure what you are saying, but I will try to FTFY:

      how you can scare more women AND loose weight with this one simple trick!

      I don't know why anyone would want to scare loose weights, though. Perhaps I am missing something? I feel hungry suddenly.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by pnkwarhall on Saturday October 18 2014, @12:44AM

    by pnkwarhall (4558) on Saturday October 18 2014, @12:44AM (#107213)

    ...Just here for the comments. (**tosses popcorn kernel in mouth**)

    --
    Lift Yr Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 18 2014, @04:50AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday October 18 2014, @04:50AM (#107268)

    The real surprise is that apparently some males will actually care more about food than sex! Must be the fat ones.