Grandmothers Matter: Some surprisingly controversial theories of human longevity

Distillations | Science History Institute

Baby horses and giraffes walk soon after they’re born, and they can feed and take care of themselves pretty quickly, too. A one-year-old person, on the other hand, is basically helpless. But humans go on to live much longer than most other mammals, and scientists have long been trying to piece together why this is the case.

One theory, called the grandmother hypothesis, claims that grandmas are the key to why humans live so long. Unlike most other species, human females live long past their childbearing years and so can help raise their grandchildren, allowing their daughters (or daughters-in-law) to have another baby before the first one can take care of itself.

As warm and fuzzy as this idea sounds, it turns out to be pretty controversial. In this episode of Distillations we explore the grandmother hypothesis and find out what the debate is all about.

Credits

Hosts: Michal Meyer and Bob Kenworthy Producer: Mariel Carr Associate Producer: Rigoberto Hernandez

Music

Our theme music was composed by Zach Young.