Trade Offs And Tune Ups
Evolutionary theory says aging happens because organisms don’t fully do this to their damaged parts.
What is repair?
This stage begins when the ovaries clock out and estrogen takes a nosedive.
What is menopause?
One major critique of the grandmother hypothesis is that this kind of cross-population evidence is not very convincing.
What is qualitative and quantitative support for helpful grandmothers?
This long-lived marine mammal also has post-reproductive females that help their kin.
What are killer whales?
This scientific theory says aging results from the failure to fully fix internal damage.
What is the evolutionary theory of aging?
These two evolutionary mechanisms explain why complete repair doesn’t always happen: bad genes and reproductive what?
What are trade-offs?
These hot hormonal messengers skyrocket as estrogen and progesterone fall.
What are FSH and LH?
The grandmother hypothesis struggles because these predictive tools don’t show much benefit to quitting reproduction.
What are mathematical models?
In this experiment, flies bred for late reproduction ended up living significantly longer.
What is the Luckinbill et al. (1984) experiment?
Under this hypothesis, menopause exists to help older women support their grandkids.
What is the grandmother hypothesis?
This evolutionary biologist famously argued that organisms could repair themselves but often don’t.
Who is George C. Williams?
This hormone decline affects libido, muscle mass, and bone strength in women—not just bros.
What is testosterone?
The hypothesis largely forgets that these people—besides grandma—exist and might matter too.
What are males and siblings?
Besides humans, this aquatic species is one of the few known to have a significant post-reproductive lifespan, making it a grandma in the deep.
What is the killer whale?
According to the evolutionary theory, organisms should be able to maintain themselves because they can do this from scratch.
What is construct themselves?
This part of an organism is easier to maintain than to build, but still wears out over time.
What are tissues or organs?
This symptom of post-reproductive aging can feel like a sudden, unexpected personal summer.
What are hot flashes?
The “old” version of the hypothesis says menopause evolved for grandmothering; the “new” version says grandmothering evolved for this.
What is longevity?
If aging is so bad, why does evolution allow it? This question reflects the paradox of this biological trait.
What is post-reproductive longevity?
This paradox asks why, if aging is bad for fitness, natural selection hasn’t eliminated it.
What is the paradox of aging or the senescence paradox?
Longevity is possible, as proven by this experiment that bred fruit flies for late reproduction.
What is the Luckinbill et al. (1984) study?
This hormonal shift affects lipid metabolism and is linked to increased cardiovascular risk in postmenopausal women.
What is estrogen decline?
This uncomfortable truth about post-menopause challenges the idea that it’s purely evolutionary genius—because along with wisdom, it often brings hot flashes, bone loss, and heart risks.
What are the negative health effects of post-menopausal aging?
If selection can extend lifespan, this big question remains: why hasn’t it done so in all species?
What is the longevity paradox?
According to evolutionary theory, this trade-off explains why organisms don’t invest infinite energy into repair—it’s because they’ve already spent it trying to make babies.
What is the trade-off between repair and reproduction?