Scientists reveal the surprising reason why women live longer than men
Like humans, 72 per cent of mammals showed a female life expectancy advantage, while 68 per cent of birds showed a male advantage, they found.
As a primary explanation for this pattern in mammals, the researchers point to the heterogametic sex hypothesis.
Research suggests that having two X chromosomes protects females from harmful mutations, offering a survival advantage.
Unlike females, males have no second X chromosome to compensate for a single harmful 'allele' (a version of a genetic sequence at a particular region on a chromosome).
'Basically, if you have two copies of the same genes, it's better than one,' study author Dr Johanna Stärk at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology said.
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