14 DAY TRIAL // German researchers at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology (MPI-EA) were able to determine in a new study why bonobos – a species of primates closely related to chimpanzees – are likely to live longer lives than their evolutionary cousins.
According to the new study, it could be that the different behavioral patterns that set bonobos apart from chimpanzees are responsible for prolonging their lives. In other words, their lifestyles may be allowing them to continue expressing a series of thyroid hormones well into adulthood.
Interestingly, humans and chimpanzees only display these chemicals for a short while during infancy and early life. The downside of these hormones is that they can cause delays in brain development for bonobos, AlphaGalileo reports. This holds true for the thyroid hormones Triiodthyronin and Thyroxin.
Bonobos and chimps are not all that different from each other during their first few years of life, but their behaviors tend to vary wildly when both species reach maturity. For example, bonobos are known to maintain behaviors that are associated with childhood well into their adult life.