Science & technology | Well informed

Is the “manopause” real?

If it is, it is nothing like the menopause

illustration of a flower losing its petals, which are shaped like sperm
Illustration: Cristina Spanò
|3 min read

HOT FLUSHES; insomnia; joint pains; loss of libido: for many women, the menopause is no fun. Why exactly women become infertile decades before they die is a much-debated mystery in evolutionary biology. Besides humans, the only other mammals whose females experience so early a menopause in the wild seem to be some species of whale.

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This article appeared in the Science & technology section of the print edition under the headline “Is the “manopause” real?”

From the June 21st 2025 edition

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