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The Evolution of Death , livre ebook

State University of New York Press - Stanley Shostak

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In The Evolution of Death, the follow-up to Becoming Immortal: Combining Cloning and Stem-Cell Therapy, also published by SUNY Press, Stanley Shostak argues that death, like life, can evolve. Observing that literature, philosophy, religion, genetics, physics, and gerontology still struggle to explain why we die, Shostak explores the mystery of death from a biological perspective.

Death, Shostak claims, is not the end of a linear journey, static and indifferent to change. Instead, he suggests, the current efforts to live longer have profoundly affected our ecological niche, and we are evolving into a long-lived species. Pointing to the artificial means currently used to prolong life, he argues that as we become increasingly juvenilized in our adult life, death will become significantly and evolutionarily delayed. As bodies evolve, the embryos of succeeding generations may be accumulating the stem cells that preserve and restore, providing the resources necessary to live longer and longer. If trends like this continue, Shostak contends, future human beings may join the ranks of other animals with indefinite life spans.

List of Illustrations
Preface
Introduction: Death the Mystery

Part I. How Biology Makes Sense of Death

                1. Evolution: Death’s Unifying Principle
                                Death Evolves!
                                False Clues: Where Science Got It Wrong
                                In Sum

                2. Charting Death’s Evolution and Life’s Extension
                                Measuring Death’s Evolution: Empirical Evidence
                                Modeling the Evolution of Lifetimes
                                Accommodating Increased Longevity
                                In Sum

                3. Rethinking Lifecycles and Arrows
                                Life as a Cycle: Lifecycles Connect Life to Life
                                Adaptations to Lifecycles
                                The Linear View of Life: Life’s Arrow
                                What Is Wrong with the Weismann/Haeckel Doctrine
                                In Sum

                4. Keeping Life Afloat
                                Why Is Life So Profligate?
                                Gambling on Life: Death against the Odds
                          &nbs

Sujets

Philosophy

Evolution

Informations

Publié par	State University of New York Press
Date de parution	01 février 2012
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9780791480816
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1648€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

Extrait

the evolution of death why we are living longer

stanley shostak

THE EVOLUTION OF DEATH

SUNY Series in Philosophy and Biology David Edward Shaner, editor

the evolution of death why we are living longer

stanley shostak

S TAT E U N I V E R S I T Y O F N E W Y O R K P R E S S

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany

Printed in the United States of America

No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher.

For information, address State University of New York Press, 194 Washington Avenue, Suite 305, Albany, NY 12210-2384

Production by Marilyn P. Semerad Marketing by Susan M. Petrie

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data

Shostak, Stanley. The evolution of death : why we are living longer / Stanley Shostak. p. ; cm. — (SUNY series in philosophy and biology) Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6945-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6945-X (hardcover : alk. paper) ISBN-13: 978-0-7914-6946-0 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN-10: 0-7914-6946-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Death. 2. Aging. 3. Life expectancy. [DNLM: 1. Death. 2. Aging. 3. Evolution. 4. Life Expectancy—trends. WT 116 S559e 2006] I. Title. II. Series. QP87.S43 2006 613.2—dc22 2005037275

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

To A. B. and G. P.

This page intentionally left blank.

List of Illustrations Preface

Contents

Introduction: Death the Mystery

Part I. How Biology Makes Sense of Death

1. Evolution: Death’s Unifying Principle Death Evolves! False Clues: Where Science Got It Wrong In Sum

2. Charting Death’s Evolution and Life’s Extension Measuring Death’s Evolution: Empirical Evidence Modeling the Evolution of Lifetimes Accommodating Increased Longevity In Sum

3. Rethinking Lifecycles and Arrows Life as a Cycle: Lifecycles Connect Life to Life Adaptations to Lifecycles The Linear View of Life: Life’s Arrow What Is Wrong with the Weismann/Haeckel Doctrine In Sum

4. Keeping Life Afloat Why Is Life So Profligate? Gambling on Life: Death against the Odds vii

ix xi

7 7 9 39

41 42 48 51 55

57 58 71 75 79 85

89 90 95

viii

Improving Profit Margins In Sum

CONTENTS

Part II. How Death Evolves and Where It Is Heading

Putting Cells in the Picture Cellular Theories of Life and Death The Cell’s Role in Growth and Development The Cell’s Role in Maintenance and Regeneration of Adult Tissues The Cell’s Role in Death The Cell’s Potential Role in Regeneration Therapy In Sum

Neoteny and Longevity The Time Is Out of Joint Juvenile Life Expectancy Spreads Upward Neoteny and the Germ Line Fecundity Is Decreasing In Sum

Afterword How Death’s Evolution Escaped the Gerontologist’s Notice Where Will Death’s Evolution Take Us?

Appendix: Different Forms of Life and Death

Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

100 104

105

107 107 109 112 117 121 130

133 134 136 142 144 148

151 152 156

161

173

197

205

235

Illustrations

Figure 1.1 Survivorship distributions for comparable life spans 13 Figure 1.2 Partial disease profile for the seven stages of a lifetime 39 Figure 2.1 Death rates by age and sex in the United States, 1955–1999 44 Figure 2.2 Percentage change in death rates and age-adjusted death rates between 1998 and 1999 by age, race, and sex, in the United States 45 Figure 2.3 Life expectancy by sex in the United States, 1970–1999 47 Figure 2.4 Life span model 50 Figure 2.5 Life span model in action 50 Figure 2.6 The accordion model 52 Figure 2.7 The bagpipe model 53 Figure 3.1 A lifecycle, as proposed by Thomas Huxley 58 Figure 3.2 Death’s role in a lifecycle 62 Figure 3.3 The Eukaryotic lifecycle as waves 64 Figure 3.4 Stages of a life span 67 Figure 3.5 Weismann’s divide 76 Figure 3.6 Numbers of precursors, oocytes, and spermatozoa in Homo sapiens85 Figure 4.1 Total deaths in Singapore, 1991–2000 96 Figure 4.2 Infant mortality rates in Singapore, 1991–2000 97 Figure 4.3 Life expectancy as a function of age 98

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