Why We Have Sex

Why We Have Sex

The presentation will discuss two of the greatest dilemmas of evolutionary biology: Why is sexual reproduction  so common, and how do new species evolve. These topics remain a subject of debate, and even bitter argument, among biologists. Oddly a solution to both of these questions has been available for decades, but has been almost completely ignored by the scientific community. Our host, Richard Weisenberg will explain how sex and speciation are actually two aspects of a single adaptive process, why scientists have been unable to reach a consensus on these issues, the importance of “magic traits” and how these may alter our view of the evolution of Homo sapiens.

Presenter: Richard Weisenberg has a BA in physics from the University of California (Santa Barbara) and a PhD in biophysics from the University of Chicago. He became a professor of biology at Temple University in 1972, where his research focused on cellular structure and motility. While teaching evolution at Temple he became interested in the problem of sex and the origin of new species, and published the book Why We Have Sex (available from Amazon). More recently he has taken up botanical illustration as a hobby, and exhibited a painting at the recent Philadelphia Flower Show.