How Long Can We Live?

Re:How Long Can We Live? by atonalfreerider on Monday May 03, 2021 @04:30PM (#27030241)

The interesting thing about the timeout genes, is that they are there for a "reason". It's a species' built-in population control mechanism to ensure that resources are spared for the younger generations. Evolution has put these genes in almost every living thing, to ensure that they eventually die.

So there is a "meaning" to death, when understood from nature.

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Re:How Long Can We Live? by staticassertion on Monday May 03, 2021 @04:37PM (#27030316)

Can you be more specific? I've heard the argument, for example, that cell death is a defense against tumor growth, but we do not observe that across all living things - we have Peto's paradox where large animals have almost no incidence of cancer.

I'd be really hesitant to try to attribute any one specific reason as to why we age, or why that has benefited some life.

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