SLOWER AGING IN WOMEN - A PROPOSED EVOLUTIONARY EXPLANATION

Differential female longevity is so far unexplained in evolutionary te rms. The theory of evolutionarily necessary aging which goes back to W allace appears to be up to the task. In this theory, aging minimizes c ompetition between forebear and offspring. The aging equation which is implicit contains the well-known empirical Gompertz law as a special case, Moreover, its parameters are automatically sex-specific. It is s hown that the slower aging of the female members of two species of mam mals, humans and sperm whales, can be 'predicted' on the basis of this equation. A prediction of effective human monogamy under archaic cond itions is obtained as a corollary. The analogous if opposite predictio n for sperm whales (strong promiscuity) is empirically testable.