Big babies and small families make evolutionary sense

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Why don’t elephants (and humans) have thousands of little babies instead of one big one?

Sydney researchers have discovered and modelled the key factors responsible for offspring and family size. Their model predicts what size offspring will be favoured by evolution. It will help conservation biologists understand what makes species endangered.

And it may help explain why human families tend to become smaller, rather than larger, as parents become richer and live longer.

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