ทวีตที่ปักหมุด
Fantastic news! My book on why Evolution ‘wants’ us dead is out on Amazon!
amazon.com/dp/B0G4R3DDH6
Aging is one of humanity’s most pressing problems, yet we still lack a clear understanding of what it is and why it exists. As a biology student, I found aging an unresolvable enigma. It was not even clear how to approach it scientifically. I could not have imagined that, years later, my own work would contribute to an evolutionary paradigm of aging.
Nowadays, most scientists view aging as something like rust or decay: a passive process of inevitable deterioration driven by accumulated damage. If we look at an aging person, it may indeed seem so. But when we look across animal species, things are clearly not that simple. Some animals, such as naked mole-rats, age extraordinarily slowly, while others, like Pacific salmon, die immediately after reproduction due to dramatic hormonal programs. Queens in eusocial insects, such as ants or bees, live tens of times longer than workers, despite sharing essentially the same genes.
Remarkably, some animals can even rejuvenate under certain conditions. All this suggests that aging and death are not just passive decay; they are shaped by ecological and evolutionary forces.
My theory proposes that aging is a genetic program that evolved to kill organisms. But what for? Why would evolution ‘want’ us dead? I argue that chronic infectious diseases can be a decisive evolutionary force favoring such a program. If an animal carries an incurable, transmissible chronic infection, its early death can reduce transmission to close relatives, making programmed death indirectly advantageous. How can this idea explain the puzzles above? And what does it imply for our attempts to defeat aging?
In this book, I lay out the current state of this theory, connect it to existing evolutionary and biomedical evidence, and explore its practical implications for extending healthy lifespan.
I am grateful to many researchers who discussed my work over the years, and specifically to those who disagree with my model. Their critiques helped me discard weak arguments, strengthen those that remain, and refine the logic of the theory in many ways. Thank you, @aubreydegrey @gladyshev_lab @ydeigin @DPromislow @Rob_SalGo @jpsenescence @kapahi_pankaj @JankauskasPhd @AlexanderMWolf7 @TSGlinin @Scinquisitor @TSchmauck @fedichev @dariovalenzano_ @AlexeiMaklakov @schumacherbj @Meyer_DH @Aging_Advice and many others. Let's continue the discussion! Thank you!
Special thanks to @MikhailBatin and @OpenLongevity foundation for their support.
Immortality and Progress!
English
