Marlene Zuk
University of Minnesota
Marlene Zuk, Ph.D., is a biologist and writer. She is a professor in the Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior at the University of Minnesota, where her research focuses on animal behavior and evolution, mostly using insects as subjects. Dr. Zuk is interested in the ways that people use animal behavior to think about human behavior, and vice versa. She teaches graduate and undergraduate courses on a diversity of topics, including a seminar on “What’s the Alternative to Alternative Medicine?” In addition to publishing numerous scientific articles, Dr. Zuk has written for The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the Chronicle for Higher Education, and Natural History magazine. She has published four books for a general audience: Sexual Selections: What We Can and Can’t Learn About Sex From Animals; Riddled With Life: Friendly Worms, Ladybug Sex, and the Parasites That Make Us Who We Are; Sex on Six Legs: Lessons on Life, Love and Language From the Insect World (a New York Times “Editor’s Choice”); and most recently Paleofantasy: What Evolution Really Tells Us About Sex, Diet and the Way We Live.