Complex adaptive systems, aging and longevity

Abstract

Mortality and reproduction are intimately entwined in the study of aging and longevity. I apply the modern theory of complex adaptive systems (nonlinear, stochastic, dynamic methods) to questions of aging and longevity. I begin by highlighting major questions that must be answered in order to obtain a deeper understanding of aging. These are: (i) What should (in an evolutionary sense) mortality trajectories look like? (ii) Why does caloric restriction slow aging? (iii) Why does reproduction cause delayed mortality? (iv) Why does compensatory growth cause delayed mortality? I show how dynamic state variable models based on stochastic dynamic programming (Clark & Mangel, 2000) can be used to embed genetic theories of senescence (either mutation accumulation or antagonistic pleiotropy) in the somatic environment, as George Williams called for in 1957, and how they make the disposable soma theory of aging operational. Such models will allow unification of genetic and phenotypic theories of aging. © 2001 Academic Press.