Evolution and ageing

Abstract

Did senescence evolve as a direct result of natural selection in order to limit the life-span or did increases in longevity evolve in the face of random events that ordinarily limit the life-span? The adaptive hypothesis is that senescence is a programmed process which appeared in evolution because a limited life-span has selective advantages for certain species. Non-adaptive theorists hold that evolution has acted to lengthen the life-span and maximize reproduction and that senescence is only an evolutionary by-product since natural selection does not act directly on postreproductive events. The assumptions and arguments underlying these hypotheses are examined critically in the light of experimental evidence. While theoretical study of the evolution of ageing may advance our understanding of the nature of ageing itself, it is likely that further clarification of the relationship between evolution and ageing will depend on experimental approaches that are now becoming possible.