2023-06-14 16:02:34
abc podcast
dark matter
The fact that masturbation is so widespread and has lasted so long makes scientists wonder what its advantages are for the species that practice it.
In the animal kingdom, masturbation is very common, although it is clearly prevalent among primates, including humans. Historically, this behavior was viewed as pathological, a pernicious vice to be eradicated, or at best a byproduct of sexual arousal.
However, studies in this regard are too few and fragmented to understand the evolutionary history of masturbation and its true adaptive significance. Nature does not usually preserve in species habits or characteristics that do not imply a clear evolutionary advantage. But what would then be the advantages of masturbating? And why has such behavior been so long firmly in place in such a large number of species?
Now, new research just published in ‘Proceedings of The Royal Society B’ has managed to provide some answers and has discovered that, after all, masturbation seems to have a very specific evolutionary purpose. The findings, in fact, indicate that it is a very old trait in primates and that, at least in males, it increases reproductive success and helps prevent sexually transmitted infections.
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