Why do we have grandparents?

Many of us treasure our grandparents, but it turns out theyre so precious that humans have
evolved gene variants that help protect them against certain age-related diseases, like
Alzheimers. By keeping the older generation healthier, it not only reduces their burden on
others but also allows them to keep contributing to society.
When elderly people succumb to dementia, the community not only loses important sources
of wisdom, accumulated knowledge and culture, but elders with even mild cognitive decline
who have influential positions can harm their social groups by making flawed decisions.
Reproduction is the name of the game for life on Earth. For the vast majority of species, if
your reproductive organs are knackered, there is no point in hanging around. Humans are an
exception here: We can live for an extremely long time after we pass reproductive age. And
that is a good thing for the species, as they can look after their kids and grandkids, help gather
food, and bestow their valuable knowledge unto others.
So is there a genetic mechanism that helps keep the brain and body healthy enough so that
they can confer these benefits to groups? That indeed seems to be the case, according to this
latest study.
The team was initially interested in the contribution of a gene called CD33 to Alzheimers
disease, which only occurs post reproductive age. Interestingly, earlier work has suggested
that a particular variant of CD33 might help protect against Alzheimers.
Looking into the origins of this particular variant, the researchers examined CD33 in our
closest relatives chimpanzees. While both species had similar levels of normal CD33,
levels of the protective variant were four times higher in humans than chimps. Thats
surprising, because you wouldnt expect strong selection pressure for something that benefits
those in old age, since elderly females are no longer able to reproduce.
Interestingly, their findings didnt end with CD33. They also found human-specific variants of
numerous other genes that have been implicated in age-related cognitive deterioration. For
example, genes that have been linked with neurodegenerative diseases like dementia or
impaired blood flow to the brain were found to have protective variants in humans of different
ethnicities, but not our closest evolutionary relatives. This means these variants must be older
than the ancestral genes, and their widespread presence across ethnicities indicates they
probably arose before Homo sapiens appeared.
For these genes to have been strongly selected in post-reproductive individuals, they must
have played an important role in our evolution. This role, the researchers suggest, is to protect
against age-associated diseases that could impede the ability of older individuals to look after

younger kin. Perhaps in the future, scientists can use this new information to help develop
treatments for the diseases that burden the elderly.