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Nature 392, 759-761 (23 April 1998) | doi:10.1038/33805

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Animal behaviour:  The evolution of menopause

Paul W. Sherman1

Menopause is the permanent cessation of menstruation, and it affects all women by the time they are about 50 years old. As well as raising personal, medical and social issues, menopause is an evolutionary puzzle — because natural selection favours increased reproduction, how could terminating it early be beneficial?

  1. Paul W. Sherman is in the Section of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.