Not any great surprise, a particular gene expression profile1 correlates strongly with late in life fecundity. Interestingly the author studied Ashkenazi Jews and the genes in question are associated with apoptosis (cell death) and DNA repair mechanisms. He has found a similar profile among Bedouin women who conceived late in life. Surely there are some correlated responses that serve as “trade-offs” for this predisposition.2 This is of course the sort of thing that could make genetic testing early in life really be relevant to the choices an individual makes.
Via John Hawks.
1 – From what I can tell there is a tacit assumption that the gene expression profile is inherited in the conventional sense and always expressed, but what about the possibility of epigenetic responses due to environmental and developmental inputs?
2 – One could argue that in premodern conditions the selection coefficient would not be as high as today because life expectancy was lower, so any short term trade-offs early in one’s reproductive career would be more detrimental to fitness than today when a far higher frequency of women make it to 50 healthy, hale and with husband.
Posted by razib at 06:08 PM