Listen up, young ladies. The life you save could be mine, and you could help the whole human race in the process:
Older men who shack up with much younger women keep the Grim Reaper at bay for the human population and extend our species' lifespan, new research claims.
Even beyond movie stars and Playboy's Hugh Hefner, there is a tendency for older men to partner with younger women, according to the study, published in the Aug. 29 edition of PLoS ONE.
In less developed, traditional societies, males are about 5 to 15 years older than their female partners. In the United States and Europe, guys are an average of two years senior to their partners.
More interestingly, when older men father children, their genes seem to increase the lifespan of both sexes over evolutionary time.
Women often lose their reproductive capacity around age 50, but if men can still reproduce into their 70s, Darwin would say it's advantageous for males to live longer lives providing they can hook up with a woman capable of reproducing.
And I still have years of reproductive capacity left. Scary, huh?
