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[Lassus]

An interesting article. I hope it hasnt been posted before.

The author makes a case for programmed ageing, and telomeres playing an important regulatory role.

She basically suggests senescence is an evolutionarily developed trait that favours group level

selection.



"Abstract

Ageing is one of biology's longstanding enigmas—a problem that has perplexed both medical

gerontologists and evolutionary biologists alike. One of the most prominent theories on the

biochemical causes of ageing is the telomere-cell senescence theory. This theory proposes that

ageing is due to the build up of telomere-induced senescent cells within the body. From an

evolutionary standpoint, this system is thought to have evolved via antagonistic pleiotropy. Under

this view, ageing is seen as a side effect of the telomere-cell senescence system, with the

primary function of it being to defend against cancer. However, there are a number of problems

with interpreting the system in this way, and several lines of evidence suggest that it was

selected first and foremost to cause ageing. This logically entails the view that ageing is

adaptive—an idea that is currently controversial."

http://biohorizons.o...ent/3/1/77.full



I really hope she is right and ageing is an adaptive thing instead of something nature just didnt

consider worth fixing from a species fitness perspective. It would make finding solutions so much

easier ill wager.