Aging: Why Evolution Kills?

While aging is one of humanity's most important problems, we still do not understand what it is and why it exists. Most scientists believe that aging is somehow related to the accumulation of biochemical damage; however, even a precise definition of aging is still a subject of debate. One of the most important questions that remains unanswered concerns the evolution of aging. If the main driving force of natural selection is reproduction and the distribution of genes, how can aging contribute to this? Why has evolution not eliminated it? What are the mechanisms of aging?

The pathogen control theory described in this book challenges established dogmas. According to this theory, aging is the result of a genetic program evolved to kill old organisms. Why? Old organisms are more likely to be carriers of chronic infectious diseases, which they can pass on to their peers. Thus, aging is part of the immune system, which protects not the individual itself but its relatives. Most of the book is devoted to discussing phenomena that are not explained by classical theories of aging. Why do animals of some species not age? Why do others die immediately after reproduction? Why do queen bees live much longer than worker bees, although they share the same set of genes? Why do flying animals live longer than non-flying ones? The pathogen control theory provides answers to these questions and indicates promising approaches for searching for the mechanisms of human aging and intervening in them.