A new study challenges a prominent evolutionary theory about why women live long after their childbearing years.

It is not obvious why selection should favor menopause or the continued survival of individuals that can no longer reproduce. The famous Grandmother Hypothesis had been used to explain the evolutionary significance of menopause. A new study conducted on the Ngogo chimpanzees community of wild chimpanzees in Uganda challenges this hypothesis. Science 27 Oct 2023 Vol 382, Issue 6669 DOI: 10.1126/science.add547

  • gregorumEnglish
    7•1 year ago

    They don’t live long enough to go through menopause. Ever met a female cat that lived into her 50s?

    We may soon discover that orcas also experience menopause as soon as some daring team of whale biologists carries out a similar study collecting orca pee.

      • Drusas
        4•1 year ago

        Orcas do, and their behavior fits the grandmother hypothesis pretty well.

      • gregorumEnglish
        1•1 year ago

        That wouldn’t surprise me at all. They certainly live long enough. 

    • StorksforlegsEnglish
      2•1 year ago

      Ah, I see. That’s interesting, never realized this! I guess I just thought mammals had similar reproductive setups (aside from different gestations and number of children etc) But I really have no idea haha.