Department of Biology, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark.
Max Planck Odense Center on the Biodemography of Aging, University of Southern Denmark, Campusvej 55, 5230, Odense M, Denmark.
Biogerontology. 2017 Dec;18(6):965-971. doi: 10.1007/s10522-017-9727-3. Epub 2017 Aug 28.
Senescence, the physiological deterioration resulting in an increase in mortality and decline in fertility with age, is widespread in the animal kingdom and has often been regarded as an inescapable feature of all organisms. This essay briefly describes the history of the evolutionary theoretical ideas on senescence. The canonical evolutionary theories suggest that increasing mortality and decreasing fertility should be ubiquitous. However, increasing empirical data demonstrates that senescence may not be as universal a feature of life as once thought and that a diversity of demographic trajectories exists. These empirical observations support theoretical work indicating that a wide range of mortality and fertility trajectories is indeed possible, including senescence, negligible senescence and even negative senescence (improvement). Although many mysteries remain in the field of biogerontology, it is clear that senescence is not inevitable.
衰老，即生理恶化导致死亡率增加和生殖力随年龄下降，在动物界中普遍存在，并且通常被认为是所有生物不可避免的特征。本文简要描述了衰老的进化理论观点的历史。经典的进化理论认为，死亡率的增加和生殖力的降低应该是普遍存在的。然而，越来越多的经验数据表明，衰老可能不像人们曾经认为的那样是生命的普遍特征，并且存在多种人口轨迹。这些经验观察支持了理论工作，表明广泛的死亡率和生育率轨迹是可能的，包括衰老、几乎没有衰老甚至负衰老（改善）。尽管在生物老年学领域仍有许多谜团，但衰老并非不可避免这一点是明确的。
