<
https://theconversation.com/friendship-is-magic-male-dolphins-with-close-friends-age-more-slowly-271411>
"For more than 40 years, researchers in Shark Bay, Western Australia, have been
watching the lives of a very unusual group of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins
(
Tursiops aduncus). The male dolphins in this group form one of the most
complex social systems known outside of humans, complete with lifelong
friendships, supportive alliances, and cooperative partnerships that shape
their entire lives, including how many calves they sire.
Now, our new research shows these friendships may do more than influence social
and reproductive success. They may actually slow biological ageing.
Using tools borrowed from human medical research, we found that male dolphins
with stronger social bonds appear biologically younger than their less social
counterparts. This means their bodies show fewer signs of molecular ageing than
expected for their chronological age.
This discovery isn’t just important for dolphins – it could matter for other
kinds of social mammals, including humans."
I see what they did there.
Share and enjoy,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
