On the Origin of Sex

A thrilling biological detective story. Brilliantly told and relentlessly entertaining. CHARLES FOSTER

Explore the spectacular science of reproduction — from frogs and fungi to seahorses, sparrows, and everything in between.

Let's talk about sex. Not boring, human sex, but the endlessly fascinating, varied, and complex forms of reproduction that can be found in the rest of the natural world.

Whiptail lizards and California condors are capable of immaculate conception, while strawberries are reproductive flip-floppers. Clownfish can permanently change sex, while bearded dragons undergo temperature-dependent sex reversal. For the humble slime mould, sex can involve hundreds of mating types — a veritable bonanza.

Lixing Sun has spent decades expanding the bounds of what we know about reproduction, in all its many flavours. And as it turns out, sex is far more complex and eye-opening than we ever could have imagined.