Aging out of bounds: New demographic data show how diversely different species age and biologists cannot explain why
Monday, December 9, 2013 - 10:01
in Biology & Nature
Despite aging being one the hottest topic in the media recently, scientists have no coherent explanation for it. New demographic data on humans, animals and plants for the first time unveil such an extraordinary diversity of aging processes that no existing evolutionary theory can account for. Both life spans and mortalities vary from species to species. The fact that the probability of dying rises with age applies to humans, but is not principally true. This is shown by a catalog of 46 species with their respective mortality and fertility rates.