Theories of ageing Flashcards
Why do we age?
- not sure
- over 200 theories of ageing
The theories are split up into 3 broad categories. What are they?
- wear and tear
- adaptive evolutionary
- non-adaptive evolutionary
What is wear and tear?
with time, damage is accumulated and the body wears out
How are elephants an example of wear and tear?
- elephants have 26 teeth:
- 2 tusks, and 6 sets of 4
- when an elephant chews, it uses a set of 4
- when this falls flat, it uses the next set of 4
- as the sets fall out, elephant cant chew grass anymore
- dies of malnutrition
Which animals can oppose wear and tear?
- sea anemones
- dont seem to age
- they die through disease or getting eaten
- they can repair the intrinsic damage of life at the same rate as it occurs
can humans repair any cells?
- can repair germline (Cells that become eggs and sperm)
Which animal can repair the whole self?
- salamanders can repaid a whole limb as the DNA contains a template for rebuilding anything
What does adaptive evolutionary suggest?
- evolved to age
- Evolution
- natural selection
- if this theory is right, it means ageing should be advantageous
Does this theory work?
NO
Why does this theory not work?
- bc it is an advantage for the whole population
- dying old people educe competition for the youth
- for something to be an evolutionary advantage, it must be advantage for individual
What is the non- adaptive evolutionary concept?
- ageing has come about as a consequence of other characteristics that have been selected for through natural selection
What are the 3 parts of the non-adaptive evolutionary theory?
- mutation accumulation theory
- antagonistic pleiotropic genes theory
- disposable soma theory
What is the mutation accumulation theory?
- power of natural selection declines with age
- gene from before reproduction is passed on (early on in life
- if gene expressed after reproduction= cant pass on
- ageing is bc of collection of late acting deleterious genes (causing harm)
- cant get rid off through natural selection (Cant pass on)
- this theory makes sense but there is nor experimental proof
What is antagonistic pleiotropic gene theory about?
- genes with 2 diff effects= good and bad
- if a gene had an early good effect, but bad late effect= good effect is passed on in gene, but bad effect contributes to ageing
- some experimental proof
- famous study= DROSOPHILA FRUIT FLY
Explain the study on drosophila fruit fly
- if fruit flies have the aa (abnormal abdomen) allele
- it increases early fertility
- reduces longevity (survival)
- if you make the drosophila flies breed late in life over 15 generations, lifespan extended by 1/3
- but they were short winged and had less flying ability
What is the disposable soma theory?
- a mathematical model
- come out from the antagonistic pleiotropic gene theory
- views an organism as a machine that transfers free energy into progeny (off spring)
- successful mating is to ensure that genes survive in the most efficient way
How does the disposable soma theory model work?
- organism can take in a certain amount of energy
- energy used in different ways
= to process the food which is vital
= look for food
= defend
= reproduce