Goldsmith Theodore C
Azinet LLC, Box 239, Crownsville, MD, 21032, USA.
Biochemistry (Mosc). 2014 Oct;79(10):1049-55. doi: 10.1134/S000629791410006X.
Modern programmed (adaptive) theories of biological aging contend that organisms including mammals have generally evolved mechanisms that purposely limit their lifespans in order to obtain an evolutionary benefit. Modern non-programmed theories contend that mammal aging generally results from natural deteriorative processes, and that lifespan differences between species are explained by differences in the degree to which they resist those processes. Originally proposed in the 19th century, programmed aging in mammals has historically been widely summarily rejected as obviously incompatible with the mechanics of the evolution process. However, relatively recent and continuing developments described here have dramatically changed this situation, and programmed mammal aging now has a better evolutionary basis than non-programmed aging. Resolution of this issue is critically important to medical research because the two theories predict that very different biological mechanisms are ultimately responsible for age-related diseases and conditions.
现代生物衰老的程序性（适应性）理论认为，包括哺乳动物在内的生物体普遍进化出了一些机制，这些机制会有意地限制它们的寿命，以便获得进化优势。现代非程序性理论则认为，哺乳动物的衰老通常是自然退化过程的结果，物种之间寿命的差异可以通过它们抵抗这些过程的程度差异来解释。程序性衰老最初是在19世纪提出的，在历史上，它一直被广泛地一概拒绝，因为它显然与进化过程的机制不相容。然而，这里描述的相对较新且仍在持续的发展极大地改变了这种情况，现在程序性哺乳动物衰老比非程序性衰老有更好的进化基础。解决这个问题对医学研究至关重要，因为这两种理论预测，最终导致与年龄相关的疾病和状况的生物学机制截然不同。
