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INDEFINITE REPAIR? "Even the increase of thermodynamic entropy can be counteracted indefinitely in an open system with a constant input of neguentropy. So there is no a priori reason why living systems would not be able to indefinitely maintain and repair their structural organization." http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/evolage.html View in LinkedIn

CLEAN SLATE VS MAINTENANCE. "The strategy that multicellular organisms such as humans use to project themselves into the future is to create new cell colonies from a single undifferentiated cell rather than maintaining existing colonies indefinitely. The main reason is that reproduction is more flexible and robust than maintenance, and it provides a way of starting over with a "clean slate" and slightly different genes." https://www.quora.com/Death-and-Dying-According-to-the-theory-of-evolution-why-do-we-die View in LinkedIn

MEIOSIS. "Our own process of reproduction (meiosis) is merely a more complicated version of this, in which just a few cells (sex-cells or germ-line cells) can indefinitely reproduce, while the other cells die after a while." http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/evolage.html View in LinkedIn

IMMORTAL CELL? "Every single-celled organism alive today has been in existence since life began over 3 billion years ago. This is because individual cells do not give birth, they divide. After cell division, the two cells that result are each as old as the single cell that preceded them. The cell does not become younger by dividing. (Although this may not be exactly true). Thus every cell in your body is over 3 billion years old." https://lnkd.in/d4CsfeX View in LinkedIn

IMMORTAL CELLS. "Indeed, it is well-known that primitive organisms (e.g. bacteria, algae, protozoids, ...) are in a sense immortal. That is, when they reproduce (by mere splitting of cells) there is no difference between "parent" and "offspring": both splitted cells continue to survive, and undergo further splits, without any apparent aging or senescence." http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/evolage.html View in LinkedIn

THE WHY NOT? "On the other hand, we might imagine genes stopping the process of aging. There are enough examples of self-repair mechanisms in cells and organisms to suggest that this is possible. Moreover, the fact that genes themselves are immortal should be sufficient to counter any arguments based on uncontrollable deterioration because of the second law of thermodynamics." (Genes have a life cycle too). http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/evolage.html View in LinkedIn

LUCK. "However, mortality depends on at least two different factors: (internal) aging, and (external) perturbations (accidents, diseases, predation, starvation, ...). Though a gene can make its vehicle or carrier stronger, smarter and more resistant, it can never completely eliminate all possible perturbations causing death." http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/evolage.html View in LinkedIn

LOGICAL HESITATION. "Now, one might argue that the longer the organism lives, the more offspring it can produce, and the more copies of its genes will be made. Hence, the genes of organisms that do not age, and thus live longer, would be naturally selected." http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/evolage.html View in LinkedIn

GENE VEHICLE. "For a gene, the main criterion that must be fulfilled or maximized in order to be naturally selected, is that its vehicle (individual organism) should survive long enough to be able to produce (numerous) offspring." http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/evolage.html View in LinkedIn

UNIT OF EVOLUTION? "Individuals are merely disposable vehicles for the replicating information contained in the genes. As long as the genes survive (that is, are replicated in offspring before the individual dies), the survival or death of the individual is not very important." http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/evolage.html View in LinkedIn