Geneticists have determined how the age of conception in humans has changed over 250,000 years

Evolutionary biologists from Indiana University have determined the average age at which women and men

have given birth to children throughout evolutionary historyhumanity. The study, published in the journal Science Advances, found that fathers are, on average, consistently older than mothers, but that age gap has narrowed.

Scientists have analyzed the DNA of modern humans andfound that depending on the age at which a child was conceived, he has various mutations in the genes. Children's DNA inherited from parents contains between 25 and 75 new mutations, making it possible to compare parents and offspring and then classify the type of mutation that occurred. Studying mutations in thousands of children, IU researchers noticed a pattern: the types of mutations children get depend on the age of the mother and father.

Based on this discovery, biologists developeda method that allows you to estimate the age of conception by analyzing genetic mutations. They used this approach to estimate how people's ages at conception changed over time.

Change in mean age of parents at conception (top) and change in age difference between father and mother over the past 250,000 years. Image: Richard J. Wang et al., Science Advances

The results of the study showed that the averagethe age at which people gave birth to children over the past 250 thousand years is 26.9 years. Fathers, on average, were older: their age was about 30.7 years, and mothers - 26.4. At the same time, over the past 5 thousand years, the age difference between parents has decreased. This is due to the later birth of children by women, the researchers say.

Biologists point out that historical change is notare linear. In addition to the recent increase in maternal age at childbirth, the researchers found that around 10,000 years ago, the age of parents dropped dramatically. This coincides with the period of development of the first civilizations and active population growth.

The researchers said this work would helpunderstand the environmental problems faced by ancient people, as well as predict the consequences of future environmental changes for human society.

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