Evolutionary theories of aging: handle with care.

BACKGROUND

Evolutionary theories are considered by a growing number of gerontologists as providing a basis to understand why aging occurs.

OBJECTIVE

In such conditions, a risk could exist to favor evolutionary explanations rather than nonevolutionary ones, even when both equally fit the data.

METHODS

A paper recently published on longevity in ants is analyzed, and a study of fertility and longevity in human beings is done to illustrate this risk.

RESULTS

In the two cases, evolutionary and concurrent hypotheses may apply to the same data.

CONCLUSIONS

When both kinds of explanations may be applied, the way to solve the problem is not to favor one explanation by relying on a priori preferences, particularly if the favored hypothesis is still controversial.