Why women live so long

In most species, once you’re past the age of fertility you’re unnecessary and you’re sloughed off like so much dead weight. However, in humans the average lifespan of women generally exceeds men, even though men stay fertile into old age. According to this Economist article, it may be that grandmas increase the population. One study (drawn from records in 18th and 19th century Finland and Canada) showed that a woman “gained two extra grandchildren for every decade she survived beyond the age of 50”:

Moreover, the physical presence of the matriarch was vital. Children who lived more than 20km from their mothers produced significantly fewer offspring than those who lived in the same village. That suggests the increase in the number of grandchildren was due not to some subtle genetic effect, but rather to help—whether physical or in the form of advice—that matriarchs were contributing.

Would that be “advice” or hounding? Never mind. You gotta wonder if our mobile society contributes to a lower population rate among the educated classes. Who lives near grandma anymore? Over the river and through the woods and onto the airplane we go...

2:46:19 PM      trackback [] 

Mate y dulces de nuevo

I had a nice visit this morning with las argentinas. I thought I’d have a harder time speaking en español as it’s been a long time since I’ve practiced, but it wasn’t so bad. I warned them they’d need patience with me, but by saying that I may have freed myself up to fumble around if I needed to and I felt reasonably comfortable.

New word for the day is cejas, eyebrows. Maddy is doing Internet dating and of the three guys she’s met so far she likes the first one the best. Except for one problem: cejas that are apparently quite overgrown. Maddy is a hairdresser so she notices these things. Sandra suggested Maddy offer to cut his hair at the salon and then she can trim his cejas when he’s trapped and defenseless in her chair. Que buena idea.

I brought a hefty portion of mocha tart left over from Saturday night. The richness and density of chocolate in this tart is probably the prime culprit in my insomnia Saturday night. It was nice for driving home – I got home around 2 am – but I was still buzzing until the sun came up. Anyway, it was a big hit with las muchachas this morning. And nice to have mate again. I have really got to order some for sipping at home.

2:00:55 PM      trackback []