The reanalysis of three large datasets uncovers progressive telomere erosion between healthy human generations and supports an 11-year-old model of telomere-driven macroevolution

Upon re-examination of large telomere datasets from healthy human populations, a downward secular trend in telomere length at birth was found. The authors theorized that relatively recent environmental stresses to female germ cells could have driven the observed intergenerational telomere erosion; otherwise, these trends would have pushed populations into pathological telomere length ranges within a few centuries. Strangely, the authors decided to disregard an 11-year-old theory of telomere-driven macroevolution that is based on progressive intergenerational telomere loss as the driving force behind species extinction and speciation. Additionally, Holohan and colleagues introduced a “new” interpretation of the old-father-long-telomered-offspring effect, namely as a consequence of intergenerational telomere erosion in the female lineage. Yet, an identical theoretical model has been published twice, several years before. To distinguish between a temporary trend caused by environmental pollution and a general evolutionary mechanism of intergenerational telomere erosion, we urgently need telomere length data from multigenerational studies on mammals with a short generation-time. 1