“Experts” claim the female of the species is STRONGER than the male, are more likely to survive famine, epidemics and violence – and their motherly instincts could be their saving grace.

According to thesun.co.uk, University of Southern Denmark scientists looked at seven periods in history where “mortality shocks” occurred and large parts of the population were wiped out by disasters, including the 1845 Irish potato famine, the deadly measles epidemics in Iceland in 1842/1882, and the survival rates of slaves in Trinidad in 1813.

“In all populations, they had lower mortality across almost all ages, and, with the exception of one slave population, they lived longer on average than men”, said professor Virginia Zarulli, “Even though the crises reduced the female survival advantage in life expectancy, women still survived better than men.”

Zarulli said that even when mortality was very high, women lived longer.

Male and female sex hormones, testosterone and oestrogen, could play a role. Oestrogen is known to have anti-inflammatory qualities, while studies have shown that testosterone fuels a man’s competitive nature, which can lead him to be more reckless in some situations.

 The Sun