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June 10, 2011

Strange But True!

Q. What's one singularly extreme way for men to add 14 years to their lives?

A. The average man may run a 100-meter race faster and lift heavier weights than the average woman but nowadays women outlive men by about five or six years, says Professor Thomas Kirkwood of Newcastle University, England, in Scientific American magazine. By age 85, there are roughly three women to every two men; by age 100, the ratio is more like two to one. So why does “the weaker sex” live longer? Beyond lifestyle, stresses, or habits such as smoking and drinking is biology. Evidence is stacking up that high levels of male fertility-boosting testosterone are bad for long-term survival. Further evidence from rodents suggests that cells in a female body do damage repair better thanks to the ovaries. Moreover, as many dog and cat owners can attest, neutered male animals often live longer than their intact counterparts.


 
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