article_snippet: It is probably one of the most peculiar aspects of human biology - that females of a certain age lose the ability to reproduce.
article_snippet: The evolution of a trait that reduces the reproductive capability of a species has long baffled biologists and there are a number of theories for why it emerged in humans.
article_snippet: The findings may now also help to explain why the menopause emerged in human populations - the menopause allowed older women to impart older women knowledge and help care for the younger members.
article_snippet: Professor Darren Croft, a behavioural ecologist at the University of Exeter, said: 'In humans, it has been suggested that menopause is simply an artifact of modern medicine and improved living conditions. '
article_snippet: However, mounting evidence suggests that menopause in humans is adaptive. '
article_snippet: In hunter-gatherers, one way that menopausal women help women relatives, and thus increase the transmission of women own genes, is by sharing food. '
article_snippet: Menopausal women may also have shared another key commodity - information.'
highlights_snippet: It may help to explain why the menopause evolved in older human women .