People in this side of the aisle tend to be rather good at shooting themselves in the foot, and excelling in circular firing squads.

No. They fucking don’t.

Because that’s not the question at hand: the question is specifically about the biological function of menopause. For the vast majority of species on Earth, both males and females retain their ability to reproduce until death, whether that death is gradual over many reproductive cycles, or sudden after a single…

What about a woman with her Master’s in Anthropology with a focus in HBE? Dr. Kristen Hawkes is the prominent researcher for the Grandmother hypothesis stateside, and her research has been invaluable to understanding how and why humans have post-reproductive lifespans. This question is fairly fundamental in…

Does any person on Jezebel understand science?!?! This was NOT a sociological study. It was a BIOLOGICAL study.

Explaining the way science works would not be mansplaining.

Having looked into this in the past, I was under the impression that such questions about menopause tend to ask why women lose their reproductive ability halfway or 3/4 way through life, whereas men don’t. So the question has traditionally been “why does menopause happen?” and not “why don’t women die sooner?” It is…

That is not dubious. Have you ever written a paper? Done any research?

Naw, the article is hopelessly stupid and pushing an agenda.

so because it doesn’t fit in within your personal, unrelated views the science isn’t worth questioning?

True, and from the abstract it seems like a more accurate summary would be “why does menopause happen?” Don’t know why living past menopause would be maladaptive (unless facing severe overcrowding), but it does make sense to ask why menopause itself isn’t selected against.

It’s a valid biological question, because menopause appears to be the exception rather than the rule in the animal kingdom. Female dogs, for example, remain fertile throughout their lives (albeit with a reduction in reproductive fitness, as with most mammals). The same thing is true for the females of most mammalian…

Jezebel doesn’t do science well. That’s been long established.

My point still stands, though: this piece is ridiculous.

I don’t understand why people are projecting their personal feelings onto research questions like this. It isn’t a social science study, it is a biological science study.

Yeah, I don’t get the snark. Science is about asking and answering such questions.

From a strictly scientific standpoint, it is an interesting question.

its also important to note that not all of these “refugees” are syrian or even escaping a warzone. there’s a huge percentage of economic migrants taking advantage of Merkel’s open-door policy, which is losing support quickly among natives. many of these economic migrants refuse to show a passport (making them…

reduces women to our reproductive organs in a way that never happens to men

It was Bill Clinton’s crime bill but Hillary supported it. I think reason why he is getting a pass is because he has addressed it, the reason why he voted for it was because the Violence Against Women act was attached to it. If the violence against women act was not attached to it he would have not voted for it, he…