Love in the Time of Science

Men Are Attracted to Nonconformist Women

The popular idea that women should try to conform or be submissive around men is outdated

There Is a Fine Line between Love and Drunk

Oxytocin, known as the “love hormone,” has a dark side—and it looks like alcohol intoxication

How to Be a Better Spouse

Being nice, paying attention and praising a partner’s strengths all pay off in a long-term relationship

How to Be a Better Listener

Check your assumptions, be curious, suspend judgment and know when you’ve had enough

Size Matters--for Heart Monitors

The same technological advances that shrank telephones miniaturized heart monitors, with far-reaching implications for heart health.

Why Studying Fertility in Sea Urchins Makes Sense [Excerpt]

Google “sea urchin fertilization” and you’ll find dozens of animations and videos of lone sea urchin sperm finding its way home to an egg 

What Forms of Creativity Turn You On?

It’s no secret: creativity is sexy. People all over the world rank creativity as a highly desirable quality in a partner, and people who are creative across a variety of fields report more sexual partners (similar results have been found in specific fields such as visual art, music, and humor).

Have You Had a 2-Body Problem? [Poll]

We're asking for your help again this year to find out more about the challenge that couples face when they both seek good jobs in the same city

Why Romantic Illusions Are a Good Thing

Scientists believe that idealizing one's partner can work as a self-fulfilling prophecy, where illusion eventually becomes reality. That is to say, people can help to create the partners they wish they had, by exaggerating their virtues and minimizing their faults in their own minds.

Dating Services Tinker with the Algorithms of Love

How online dating sites and apps hone their software based on user behavior—and misbehavior—to find your true romance

Could Our Love of Dogs Obscure Their Most Important Parts?

Ask me about my childhood dog Brandy, and I hope you have at least an hour to spare. The story of how she came into my life (told here) is entertaining enough (and to hold your attention, I would play up the parts about the mother-daughter conflict that preceded visiting the shelter, as well as [...]

Love, Hate...What's the Difference?

In honor of Valentines Day, Id like to take a quick look at one of the most fundamental human emotions hate. Wait, that doesnt seem right.

Can Brain Implants Solve the Valentine’s Day Dilemma?

February is the most anxious month. Every year at this time, I agonize over the Valentine’s Day Dilemma. What should I do to show my girlfriend, “Emily,” how much I love her?

Man’s Best Friend? The Mysterious Role of Oxytocin Revealed

The World of Dog revolves around humans. If youre a companion dog, who you socialize with, when you frolic in the park, and whether or not you procreate are often determined by someone with two legs.

What “Monster Porn” Says about Science and Sexuality

“What does woman want?” Freud once whined. Turns out quite a few women want fantasy sex with T. rex, Sasquatch or a boar-headed god.

No Silly Love Songs? Celebrate Valentine s Day with Our Latest eBook: Love, Sex and Science

Terms of Endearment: Why Do We Use Pet Names in Relationships?

I have been called a little owl, a swan and even a "panda-fish." No, I'm not a supernatural, shape-shifting creature or a character in a children's storybook.

How To Craft An Empirically-Supported Marriage

Many of you have likely noticed that I have been on an extended hiatus from blogging due to an especially crazy 2014, filled with lots of big events and life changes that have kept me exceptionally busy.

Discovering the Secrets of Long-Term Love

A survey reveals many American couples are still "intensely in love" even after a decade together--and hints at the reasons why

Optical Illusions and the Illusion of Love

How do we fool thee? Let us count the ways--that illusions play with our hearts and minds

Steamy Smooches Share Batches of Bacteria

A 10-second makeout session can also transfer some 80 million oral bacteria. Dina Fine Maron reports

Your Brain in Love

Cupid's arrows, laced with neurotransmitters, find their marks

Why Do We Love Chocolate?

Our love affair with chocolate is nothing new, but in recent years scientists have tried to uncover the source of our cocoa cravings. Scientific American editor Dina Fine Maron digs through the available evidence, looking for a morsel of truth.