The Evolutionary Mystery Of Menopause ... In Whales

Short Wave

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4.7 • 6K Ratings

🗓️ 22 March 2024

⏱️ 12 minutes

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Summary

Across the animal kingdom, menopause is something of an evolutionary blip. We humans are one of the few animals to experience it. But Sam Ellis, a researcher in animal behavior, argues that this isn't so surprising. "The best way to propagate your genes is to get as many offspring as possible into the next generation," says Ellis. "The best way to do that is almost always to reproduce your whole life."

So how did menopause evolve? The answer may lie in whales. Ellis and his team at the University of Exeter recently published a study in the journal Nature that studies the evolution of menopause in the undersea animals most known for it. What they uncovered may even help explain menopause in humans.

Curious about other animal behavior mysteries? Email us at [email protected].

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0:21.0	Hey Shortwavers Emily Kwong here and this time I've got two of our favorites for our
0:27.0	regular roundup of science news.
0:29.0	Ari Shapiro is in the house.
0:30.0	Hi Ari.
0:31.0	Hi, Arry.
0:32.0	Thanks for letting me dish up some science knowledge with you.
0:34.6	Yeah, and I also have Margaret Serino, hey March.
0:36.8	Hi Emily.
0:38.4	As you both know, we're going to share three science stories in the news that have caught our attention
0:42.0	recently.
0:42.7	I hear one of them is about menopause in whales.
0:45.9	Yes.
0:46.9	The animal, not the country.
0:47.9	Yeah, and another is about an innovative patch that helps people with vocal disorders speak.
0:55.3	And finally, we have a story about songbird migration and the bird's secret rest stops.
1:01.3	All that on this episode of Shorewave, the Science Podcast from NPR sponsor Solgar as people age
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