Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 10, 2026

Orthotopic Ovarian Transplantation Procedures to Investigate the Life- and Health-span Influence of Ovarian Senescence in Female Mice
Published on: February 12, 2018
Menopause: why does fertility end before life?
Abstract:
Menopause is associated with an ultimate cessation of child-bearing potential. Medical research on menopause focuses mostly on the underlying physiological changes associated with menopause. By contrast, evolutionary biologists are interested in understanding why women lose their potential to reproduce before the end of their lives. Evolution by natural selection predicts that the behaviors that we observe today are products of generations of selection on the genes that govern those behaviors. Since one would expect an individual reproducing throughout its life to produce more offspring than an individual stopping early, one would seldom expect genes for menopause to be selected for during our evolutionary past. This article discusses how menopause and prolonged lifespan might be explained by evolutionary theory, and highlights some angles for future research.
More Related Videos
12:36Whole Ovary Immunofluorescence, Clearing, and Multiphoton Microscopy for Quantitative 3D Analysis of the Developing Ovarian Reserve in Mouse
Published on: September 3, 2021
05:42Z-Scores for Assessing Ovarian Reserve in Young Patients Undergoing Fertility Preservation
Published on: October 25, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Oogenesis
Ovarian Cycle
Oogenesis
Each primary oocyte is surrounded by a layer of pre-granulosa cells, forming what is known...
Hormonal Control of the Ovarian Cycle
Before puberty, the hypothalamus releases GnRH in a low frequency, low amplitude pulsatile manner. This along with the immature hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis activity, results in low estrogen levels and the absence of a fully functional ovarian cycle. At puberty, GnRH secretion increases in both frequency and...
Menopause
Infertility in Females
Endometriosis, a condition characterized by abnormal growth of endometrial...