TITLE:
The Evolution of Aging: Implications for Human Health and Geriatric Research
AUTHORS:
Rebecca Yeboah, Philip Appiah
KEYWORDS:
Senescence, Lifespan, Accumulation, Extrinsic Mortality, Fitness, Negative Senescence, Mutation Accumulation, Antagonistic Pleiotropy, Geriatric Relevance, Gene Editing, Telomerase
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Aging Research,
Vol.15 No.2,
March
30,
2026
ABSTRACT: Aging, or senescence, varies markedly among living organisms. Some experience progressive physiological decline while others show negligible or negative senescence. This review examines diverse aging patterns across taxa, focusing on evolutionary mechanisms such as antagonistic pleiotropy and mutation accumulation. We argue that extrinsic mortality-death caused by environmental factors such as predation and accidents rates, shapes the force of natural selection across all ages, resulting in different evolutionary trajectories of senescence. Fitness, which is defined as an individual’s ability to survive and reproduce, declines with age in most species. Negative senescence, referring to improved fertility or survival with age, is however, observed in a minority of taxa. Importantly, this review highlights the relevance of these evolutionary theories to human geriatric research, including potential therapeutic interventions.