Killer whales shed new light on human menopause
July 2nd, 2010 - 1:13 pm ICT by ANIWashington, July 1 (ANI): A new research on killer whales could help solve the evolutionary mystery of menopause.
Scientists at the Universities of Exeter and Cambridge have found that killer whales, pilot whales and humans are the only three known species where females experience menopause.
The study cites the reason as increasing genetic relations with those they live, in each case, creating a ‘grandmotherly’ role, where the older ones share parenting knowledge.
Dr Michael Cant, from the University of Exeter’s School of Biosciences (Cornwall Campus) and a Royal Society University Research Fellow said that by contrast with humans and menopausal whales, in other long lived mammals it is typically males who leave the group to breed, and females who stay with their mother.
Dr Rufus Johnstone, from the Department of Zoology at the University of Cambridge, and co-author of the study, said, “This isn’t likely to be the only factor relevant to the evolution of ‘grandmothering’ and menopause, but it does give us an idea why it is restricted to so few species in the animal kingdom.”
The research is published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. (ANI)
- Why killer whales and human females stop breeding early? - Jul 02, 2010
- An Investigation Delves Into Killer Whales And The Inscrutability Of Human Menopause - Jul 04, 2010
- Humans And Whales Linked By Their "Grandmothers" - Jul 04, 2010
- Street lighting changing insect ecosystems: Study - May 24, 2012
- How whales have changed over 35 million years - May 30, 2010
- Wolf nannies shorten male pups' sex lives: Study - Oct 24, 2010
- Tiny cricket possesses world's 'biggest' testicles - Nov 11, 2010
- Bigger brains make dogs friendlier than cats - Nov 23, 2010
- Dolphins, marine mammals hunted for human consumption - Jan 25, 2012
- Flesh eating helped humans spread globally - Apr 19, 2012
- Variety 'may be the catalyst behind sexual evolution' - Oct 14, 2010
- Ozone layer holes causing sunburn among whales - Nov 10, 2010
- Temptation of mate can cause mama bird to abandon her chicks - Feb 05, 2011
- Epic ocean-spanning journeys of gigantic leatherback turtles revealed - Jan 05, 2011
- 'Gender-bending' chemicals affect reproduction: Study - Oct 27, 2010
Tags: animal kingdom, co author, cornwall, department of zoology, dr michael, females, genetic relations, july 1, killer whales, mammals, menopause, parenting knowledge, pilot whales, proceedings of the royal society, proceedings of the royal society b, rufus johnstone, share parenting, university of cambridge, university of exeter, university research fellow