The secret of the longevity of men and other primates

Primates live longer than other mammals. Why ? In examining this issue , researchers have shown that these animals had a much slower metabolism than their cousins ​​.

Most mammals , eg dogs , have a fairly short life . They generally reach adulthood within a year , breed quickly and as much as possible and often die before the fortnight. Humans of the same age so just come in adolescence when their friend always makes the soul. This is true for humans is also true for the majority of primates, such as monkeys, tarsiers and lemurs , which generally have a long childhood, have few offspring and live long . What is the secret of this exceptional longevity? Until now scientists were not able to answer this question. Researchers at the University of New Mexico are finally unravel the mystery . Their work is published in the journal PNAS .

To accomplish this feat , the scientists studied the metabolism of 17 different species of primates in captivity or in the wild. To do this, they used a safe and non-invasive method called doubly labeled water , which is to give labeled with non-radioactive animal elements water and monitor the concentration of the isotope in biological fluids such as urine , saliva and blood. They also measured the number of calories used by each species over a period of ten days. By combining these data with those obtained in previous studies , researchers were able to compare the energy expenditure of primates than other mammals.

 Why gorillas in captivity they live longer than wild ? This is in any case not to the energy expenditure is the same in both cases .
Why gorillas in captivity they live longer than wild ? This is in any case not to the energy expenditure is the same in both cases . © russiansilver , Flickr, cc by nc nd 2.0
Primates spend 2 times less energy than other mammals

" The results surprised us ," says Herman Pontzer , the lead author of the study. "We realized that primates spent only half the number of calories used by other mammals, continues the researcher. To put this in perspective , a man should run a marathon every day to achieve the same energy expenditure than non primate mammal of its size ! " According to the authors , it is thanks to this much slower than primates live long metabolism.

In this study , scientists have made ​​another startling discovery . They showed that captive primates spent the same energy as those living in freedom. However , animals locked in zoos are generally much less active than their counterparts in the wild world effort. According to them , this suggests that physical activity is not the main source of energy use in the body.

However, many questions remain unanswered. For example, scientists have wondered why men , who have more fat than the monkeys of their size, live longer than men . In the future , they would compare in detail the metabolism of these primate species in order to better understand the reasons for this phenomenon. They hope their research will lead to the development of new treatment strategies against obesity or against other diseases of metabolism.