Sex advice couple Dan and Jennifer ask, “Can swinger relationships, or open relationships, REALLY work or are they just a recipe for disaster?” What do you think She Knows readers? I want to hear from you, and don’t leave anything out!

Sharks, beetles, humans…our orgasms are all the same, I’m sure. That furious churning towards the ecstatic moment. I”m just reminding you that we’re all animals with the same impulse.

Check out these mice go at it! I like the human commentary in the background. It really makes my point, doesn’t it?

Regina Nuzzo, in an article special to the Los Angeles Times, explores the mating game and gives a great scientific perspective on how, when there are so many choices in the world, we choose and stay, not stray, with one partner. Here’s the start of her article:

How our brains resist straying

Men and women react differently to temptation, research shows. Some of it is instinctual, but loyalty can also be a trained response.

In the pursuit of happily-ever-after, the odds seem to be stacked against us.

Men and women reap huge benefits when they stick around with a good partner – staying happier and healthier, living longer and passing along more genes. But the sticking-around part is a challenge. We don’t get long-term relationship payoffs right away. And until then – between the once-upon-a-time and the happily-ever-after – plenty of temptations can beckon.

Not that it’s wrong to shop around before settling down. But there always will be enticing alternative mates – whether heart-grabbing or merely eye-catching. So researchers wonder: With so many attractive alternatives, how do humans manage to maintain relationships at all?

The brain appears to have some tricks up its neural sleeve. A new line of research is exploring how automatic psychological mechanisms kick into action when the eye starts to wander, helping resist temptation and strengthening the relationship – even without us being aware of it. Read the rest.