Grandmothers Rule: Menopausal Mammals Revisited

About this episode

Karen Nickell discusses new research on menopause in chimpanzees and the grandmother hypothesis.

Karen Nickell revisits menopausal mammal, this time with brand new context: new research from Uganda’s Ngogo chimpanzees shows some chimps experience menopause too. She explains what makes humans evolutionary outliers, unpacks the grandmother hypothesis, and explores why certain toothed whales (like orcas) stop reproducing yet continue to live for decades. Visit our website itchyandbitchy.com to read blog posts on the many topics we have covered on the show.

People in this episode

Host: Karen Nickell

Topics covered

• menopause
• chimpanzees
• grandmother hypothesis
• toothed whales
• evolution

Keywords

• menopause
• chimpanzees
• grandmother hypothesis
• toothed whales
• evolutionary biology

Mentioned in this episode

Places: Uganda, Ngogo, orcas

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