Life’s Curveballs

Here is an interesting study that someone wasted money on. It seems the more intense the competition one has for sex the earlier they will die. So having more than one lover, multiple sex partners, or more than one wife can be hazardous to ones health in more ways than one.

Scientists compared monogamous species with polygynous species, in which each male mates with many females. Males in monogamous species, such as the barnacle goose or the dwarf mongoose, naturally compete less over females than ones in polygynous species, such as the red-winged blackbird or the savannah baboon.

After investigating about 20 different vertebrate species, researchers Tim Clutton-Brock and Kavita Isvaran at the University of Cambridge in England found the more polygynous a species was, the more likely their males were to age faster and die earlier than females.

You can read the compete story on Live Science here.

Somehow comparing 20 different vertebrate, red-winged blackbirds, and savannah baboons and equating them to humans, suggest that men will “die earlier” than women if they are promiscuous. I think there is a little bit more to it than this and lifestyle has to be figured into the equation.