Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
Arrows show the vestigial structure called Darwin's tubercle. In the context of human evolution, vestigiality involves those traits occurring in humans that have lost all or most of their original function through evolution. Although structures called vestigial often appear functionless, they may retain lesser functions or develop minor new ones.
The theory is based on the idea that ageing occurs over time due to the damage of the DNA. As an example, studies of mammalian brain and muscle have shown that DNA repair capability is relatively high during early development when cells are dividing mitotically, but declines substantially as cells enter the post-mitotic state. [28] [29] [30]
Vestigial structures are often homologous to structures that are functioning normally in other species. Therefore, vestigial structures can be considered evidence for evolution, the process by which beneficial heritable traits arise in populations over an extended period of time. The existence of vestigial traits can be attributed to changes in ...
Aging theories based on evolvability; Aging theories based on group selection; Antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis; C. Cross-linking theory of aging; D. Disposable ...
It wasn't until 1930 that Ronald Fisher first noted the conceptual insight which prompted the development of modern aging theories. This concept, namely that the force of natural selection on an individual decreases with age, was analysed further by J. B. S. Haldane , who suggested it as an explanation for the relatively high prevalence of ...
Biogerontology should not be confused with geriatrics, which is a field of medicine that studies the treatment of existing disease in aging people, rather than the treatment of aging itself. There are numerous theories of aging, and no one theory has been entirely accepted. At their extremes, the wide spectrum of aging theories can be ...
These diseases each cause changes in a few specific aspects of aging but never in every aspect at once, so they are often called "segmental progerias". [30] A 2003 report in Nature [31] said that progeria may be a de novo dominant trait. It develops during cell division in a newly conceived zygote or in the gametes of one of the parents.
Strength of natural selection plot as a function of age. The antagonistic pleiotropy hypothesis (APT) is a theory in evolutionary biology that suggests certain genes may confer beneficial effects early in an organism's life, enhancing reproductive success, while also causing detrimental effects later in life, contributing to the aging process.