There's a short piece in the Boston Glove today (c3) "A Darwinian
Explanation for Grandma." "In contrast to most other animlas, who
reproduce until they die, human females live long after their
childbearing years are over. "An article in the March 11 issue of
Nature describes the research of  a Finnish researcher Mirkka
Lahdenpera who "studied multigenerational demographic records of
Finnish and Canadian women during the 18th and 19th centuries.
According to their study, the longer a woman lived past menopause, the
more successfully her children reproduced, breeding earlier and more
frequently, and raising more offspring to adulthood. The researchers
discovered that women gained, on average, two extra grandchildren for
every 10 years they survived past age 50. A grandmother can pass on her
child-care knowledge and also help care for her grandchildren... making
it more likely that her children will have more children more quickly."

Thought you all might find that interesting.

Naomi
--------------------------------
Naomi Bar-Yam Ph.D.
[log in to unmask]

Researcher, Writer, Educator
in Maternal and Child Health
--------------------------------

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