New Study Finds the ‘Silent’ X Chromosome in Mice Activates with Age

Researchers believe this discovery may explain why females, including humans, tend to live longer and retain a higher level of cognitive resilience in old age than males.

Image by Megan Judge from Pixabay

Despite all we’ve learned about our shared external reality, we have no idea how much we don’t know. Often, anything we learn is a layer of an answer rather than the entire answer. Usually, we can only reveal one layer at a time before we’re forced to stop and put further investigations on a back burner.

Thanks to technological advancements, scientists can now re-examine previously halted research to discover even more. For instance, it’s commonly known that females predominantly have two X sex chromosomes. However, one is “active” while the other is “inactive,” and scientists weren’t sure why — but a recent study may reveal at least part of the answer.

Brain Differences Between the Sexes While Aging

Research indicates there’s a fundamental difference in how males and females age, especially when it comes to their brains.

Perhaps the most well-known difference is that females typically live longer than men, in every…