Re: SCI :AGING (was "Immortality" gene revealed)

From: Anders Sandberg (asa@nada.kth.se)
Date: Fri Jan 02 1998 - 18:04:23 MST


Tony Benjamin Csoka <csoka@itsa.ucsf.edu> writes:

> Maybe aging is linked to
> terminal cellular differentiation, which in turn limits body size. Having
> a small body is an evolutionary advantage in some ecological niches.

This is likely true. "Immortal" animals never stop growing, but they
slow down their growth more and more (a logarithmic growth curve). But
size is determined by other factors too, so one shouldn't take it to
mean body size determines maximal lifespan (there is a correlation,
some power law, but I don't recall it right now).

-- 
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Anders Sandberg                                      Towards Ascension!
asa@nada.kth.se                            http://www.nada.kth.se/~asa/
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