Beauty Science or BS – Answers to our Mother’s Day Poll

Here are the answers to last week`s Beauty Science or BS poll:

1) You can tell if a female baboon is a good mother by the size of her butt.

True: The size of the swellings on a female baboon`s rump match her physical prowess for motherhood, a rare case of reproductive-quality advertisement in females.

2) Research shows that mothers are smarter and braver than non-mothers.

True: At least for rats. In 1999, Kinsley published research showing that pregnancy hormones seemed to nurture brain cells involved in learning and memory. Mother rats did better than their virgin sisters in a rat maze test. In the new study, Kinsley found that mother rats are not only smarter, but calmer and braver.

3) Separating baby rats from their mothers for only 5 minutes a day can stunt their growth.

False: In fact, the opposite is true. Brief separation actually makes the baby rats grow larger and “less fearful, with less of a stress response.

4) Becoming a mother early in your life can actually shorten your lifespan.

True: The results of a new study suggest that, historically, taking on the role early in life was linked to shorter lifespans. A report published online this week by the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences indicates that mothers who gave birth at a young age in the 18th and 19th century also tended to die young. The results suggest that natural selection may have sacrificed a woman’s longevity for reproductive success.