“They act as if we still abided by millenia old biological rules”

yes, but menopause had to evolve in humans or be lost in chimps from our MCRA as their females are reproductively involved until the end of life. So there must have been some pressure for it to develop in humans or be lost in chimps/bonobos.

Then you would expect menopause to exist in other long-lived mammals like elephants, chimps, and bonobos; but it does not.

That’s part of my problem with this piece. The title of the original article though is-

It’s interesting in as much as there hasn’t been a sufficient answer, at least not to this trio of researchers.

But most animals ARE reproductive throughout their entire adult life and the loss of fertility is usually accompanied with degeneration of overall fitness.

Yeah, no. Human females are relatively rare in their post-reproductive lives. And you saying “give a hot second’s thought” seems to imply that evolution has a logical direction, which it doesn’t, but I digress.

members of the species that had a problem during development who will not pass their faulty genes on.

Males that are born sterile, or suffer some injury, and are not able to reproduce will not pass on their genes, but they do not have a pre-programmed time in their life where they lose the biological ability to have children. There was a problem in the development of their sexual organs, but that would be considered…

Healthy males do not have “post-reproductive life spans!” You aren’t using that the correctly.

Because males of the species can mate more than once. They also do not suffer sudden onset of post-reproductive life while their other organ systems remain healthy for decades after like happens with human females.

Human men can reproduce pretty much up until death is why you wouldn’t include them.

because you can still technically have them. What’s up with conflating biology with society/culture?

That implies there was a selective pressure to develop a menopause and long post-reproductive stage in life for the females of the species, but not the males. It seems to be a relatively rare evolutionary trait.

That “if” doesn’t really count because they CAN if given the opportunity. Whether or not they have their last child around 40 doesn’t mean they can no longer have children. Like most other mammals they are still capable of reproducing until death. Human females however have a period of time in which they become…

Humans didn’t evolve with culture and society. That came second and the biological imperative of all animals is to first and foremost pass on their genes.

Great, you’ve completely missed the point of the study. I congratulate you.

That’s not their question at all. Take dogs as an example- female dogs and mice are able to have pups for pretty much their entire lives, although it becomes harder and litters are smaller as they age. Human females are fertile for a little over half their lives and undergo a menopause period that is relatively…

Men can still reproduce after the age of 45 though. In fact, men can reproduce almost up until death. Yes, their sperm may not be as fit and have a higher propensity for genetic aberrations but they can still reproduce. The same cannot be said for women after menopause and it’s a phenomenon worth studying as it is…

One reason could be that you’re taking up resources of those members of the population that are actively growing or propagating the species.