Researchers Finally Discover Why Men Exist There's a reason to keep dudes around after all. Shutterstock

Ever wondered what life would be like without men? Scientists are right there with you.

Since sex between males and females isn’t as efficient as asexual reproduction, many scientists have wondered why men exist in the first place. And they may have found their answer.

Research published in the journal Nature found that sexual selection (when males compete for the attention of females) helps species become more fit and immune to disease.

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For the study, researchers looked at years of lab-controlled procreation of the Tribolium flour beetle (i.e., they watched beetle sex) and analyzed the results. In some studies, they allowed up to 90 males to compete for the affections of 10 females; in others, they put just one male with one female so there was no sexual competition.

After breeding a whopping 50 generations of beetles, the offspring that were in the best health and were least likely to go extinct when they were inbred were the ones whose parents had a choice of a mate.

But...why? It’s all about the genes, say researchers. Sexual selection acts “as a filter to remove harmful genetic mutations, helping populations to flourish and avoid extinction in the long-term,” says lead researcher Matt Gage, Ph.D., a professor of evolutionary ecology at the U.K.’s University of East Anglia, in a press release.

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Without sexual selection, researchers say, we’d all become extinct.

Of course, this study was conducted on beetles (they don’t help raise their offspring, allowing scientists to see the effect of genes on beetle babies without having to factor in the parenting skills of beetle daddies), which are obviously very different from humans. And of course, men are necessary for many reasons—not in the least because they’re awesome.

There is an important takeaway here, though: The next time you’re totally pissed off at your S.O., keep in mind that he’s doing you and all of humanity a very important favor: He’s helping to keep us alive and healthy.