'People in their forties and fifties might mourn their changing figure or the passing of childbearing age, but these changes are key to the success of the human species, Dr. David Bainbridge said.
'Far from being over the hill, middle-aged people are arguably the "pinnacle of evolution" because they are primed to play a vital role in society which could not be filled by younger adults, he added.
'While certain physical attributes such as skin suppleness and short-range eyesight deteriorate noticeably in the fifth and sixth decades of life, more important aspects such as brain power remain virtually undiminished.
'Humans are almost unique among animals in that women lose the ability to have children roughly half way through their lives, with at least two decades of healthy life remaining beyond childbearing age. By remaining faithful, men effectively give up the ability to have children also.
'But we are such a complicated species that adults are required to do much more than simply produce and rear offspring, Dr. Bainbridge said.' (Telegraph article).media-underground.net