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Sexual vs. asexual reproduction: scientists find sex wins (Santa Barbara, Calif.) Why are most organisms sexual? The question of why most species reproduce sexually and others reproduce asexually has stymied biologists for years (particularly since asexual reproduction has many advantages including producing more offspring.) The question is answered in part in this week's Science Magazine, published on Friday, October 19. Studies by scientists at the University of California, Santa Barbara show that sexual reproduction wins out, in an evolutionary sense, over asexual reproduction in a major study that included 34 experiments with the common fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster. Specifically, they discovered that the rate of progressive evolution (the accumulation of beneficial mutations) is faster in populations that reproduce sexually. "However, there is a high cost associated with producing males," said William R. Rice, first author and professor of biology at the UC, Santa Barbara. "Just do the math and you will...

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