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This is Scientific American — 60-Second Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.
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Menopause marks the end of a female's babymaking era. And not just for humans. Female killer whales go through menopause, too. And a new study finds that they might get pushed into menopause by their up-and-coming daughters. Those findings are floated in the journal Current Biology.
Female orcas usually quit popping out calves between the ages of 30 and 40. Yet they can live to be more than 90 years old. One granny orca, who recently dropped from researchers' radar and is (sadly) presumed to have passed, was thought to be 105.
But why would a female whale stick around for so long after she's done adding to the gene pool? One theory is that it pays to keep nanna around so she can help care for the younger members of her family group. Indeed, matriarchal orcas do spend a lot of time nurturing their descendants.

But that doesn't explain why the old gals should stop having babies of their own. To dive deeper into that issue, researchers examined 43 years' worth of demographic data on two populations of killer whales in the Pacific Northwest. The records tracked the ages and genealogical relationships of the resident orcas, including 525 calves.
Turns out that when mothers and daughters breed at the same time, the calves of the elder females—for reasons yet unclear—are almost twice as likely to die by the age of 15 than those of the younger moms. Which the researchers say could account for why the grande dames ultimately give up on reproduction and coast through their golden years doting on the gargantuan grandkids.
Thanks for listening for Scientific American — 60-Second Science Science. I'm Karen Hopkin.

参考译文

这里是科学美国人——60秒科学HF6dvkz2|nPRQoRQ^I=E。我是凯伦·霍普金PRngW#.N2h8iQ[s[C。
有一分钟时间吗？
更年期标志着女性生育期的结束7Le5_*lMxL&iBBp#^。不仅人类有更年期T*@]Eqj3i7kYf^s;LDIU。雌性虎鲸也会经历更年期KCbNBG3jjAymfjSqeZ60。一项新研究发现，孕育女儿可能将它们带入更年期2XqsL0@mX_r[h。该研究结果发表在《当代生物学》期刊上^_9wUqybzlmrvu3u。
雌性虎鲸一般在30到40岁之间停止生育小虎鲸Is1KxK+v|eUfC6。不过它们可以活到90多岁!3e=@15xtRu!tfG_MTBg。最近从研究人员雷达上消失的一只祖母虎鲸应该有105岁了，不过令人伤心的是，它已经被推定死亡了^0chf8K6-D61wg。
为什么雌性虎鲸在不再为基因库做贡献之后，还可以存活这么长时间？一种理论认为，祖母的存在可以照顾年轻的家庭成员u|TDK0FmSJSGn_9。事实上，母系虎鲸的确在培养后代上花了很多时间856Iz%lHoH-@t。
但是，这并不能解释为什么老姑娘应该停止生宝宝hc0AQG&LgDH4,|EKJS。为了深入研究这个问题，研究人员对太平洋西北部地区两种虎鲸在43年间的人口数据进行了研究irUA#=|.d-#=2ZOzz。这些数据记录了该地区虎鲸的年龄以及基因关系，这其中包括525头小虎鲸Lh7GF|_.[DaPc。
研究结果表明，当妈妈和女儿同时喂养子女时，年长母鲸后代在15岁死亡的几率是年轻母鲸后代的两倍a#9;p,P4x4Xcj])JHkQ6。研究人员表示，这就可以解释为什么很多年长虎鲸在黄金之年放弃繁殖而把时间用于宠溺庞大的子孙群5^Z3l[@iT;Oexh,QXYa。
谢谢大家收听科学美国人——60秒科学%9TNkrC.~K.n_qA。我是凯伦·霍普金uzhRLX|DcrZj5]Wo(sCG。

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重点讲解

重点讲解：
1. go through 经历，经受（尤指苦难或艰难时期）；
例句：The child is going through a difficult phase.
那孩子正经历困难的阶段&|~xc+]Zpw;|])tXBd!2。
2. stick around 呆在原处(等待)；
例句：I hope youll stick around till the end.
我希望你能留在这里直到结束^Xv82t^#!EXMLvV63v。
3. account for 导致；解释；
例句：Now, the gene they discovered today doesn't account for all those cases.
不过，他们现在发现的基因无法解释所有的病例EZ&RMbB7MgC4G2(SX6。
4. give up on 对…绝望；对…不抱希望；
例句：Please keep dreaming and never give up on yourself.
请你一往无前地梦想，永远不要放弃uW0gXkS9e+!LO.wadUU。