Whales Are Helping Solve the Mystery of Menopause
Humans and orcas are among the few mammals that become infertile at midlife. The reason highlights the value of society’s elders.
The best is yet to come.
Photographer: Olivier Morin/Getty Images/AFPAlthough life can seem to go whizzing by, humans are actually weirdly long-lived animals. A new study helps explain why: menopause.
The fact that female humans lose fertility while still remaining vigorous and strong is extremely rare — most other animals keep reproducing until they are near death. Only five other animal species are known to undergo menopause and experience a long post-fertile phase — all of them toothed whales. Now scientists found that the females of those whale species live on average 40 years longer than females of species that remain fertile. They published their findings in the journal in Nature.