The Evolution of Death: Why We Are Living Longer (S U N Y Series in Philosophy and Biology)

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. the evolution of death......Page 4 Contents......Page 8 Illustrations......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Introduction:Death the Mystery......Page 16 Part I. How Biology Makes Sense of Death......Page 20 DEATH EVOLVES!......Page 22 FALSE CLUES: WHERE SCIENCE GOT IT WRONG......Page 24 IN SUM......Page 54 2. Charting Death’s Evolution and Life’s Extension......Page 56 MEASURING DEATH’S EVOLUTION: EMPIRICAL EVIDENCE......Page 57 MODELING THE EVOLUTION OF LIFETIMES......Page 63 ACCOMMODATING INCREASED LONGEVITY......Page 66 IN SUM......Page 70 3. Rethinking Lifecycles and Arrows......Page 72 LIFE AS A CYCLE: LIFECYCLES CONNECT LIFE TO LIFE......Page 73 ADAPTATIONS TO LIFECYCLES......Page 86 THE LINEAR VIEW OF LIFE: LIFE’S ARROW......Page 90 WHAT IS WRONG WITH THE WEISMANN/HAECKEL DOCTRINE......Page 94 IN SUM......Page 100 4. Keeping Life Afloat......Page 104 WHY IS LIFE SO PROFLIGATE?......Page 105 GAMBLING ON LIFE: DEATH AGAINST THE ODDS......Page 110 IMPROVING PROFIT MARGINS......Page 115 IN SUM......Page 119 Part II. How Death Evolves and Where It Is Heading......Page 120 CELLULAR THEORIES OF LIFE AND DEATH......Page 122 THE CELL’S ROLE IN GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT......Page 124 THE CELL’S ROLE IN MAINTENANCE AND REGENERATION OF ADULT TISSUES......Page 127 THE CELL’S ROLE IN DEATH......Page 132 THE CELL’S POTENTIAL ROLE IN REGENERATION THERAPY......Page 136 IN SUM......Page 145 6. Neoteny and Longevity......Page 148 THE TIME IS OUT OF JOINT......Page 149 JUVENILE LIFE EXPECTANCY SPREADS UPWARD......Page 151 NEOTENY AND THE GERM LINE......Page 157 FECUNDITY IS DECREASING......Page 159 IN SUM......Page 163 Afterword......Page 166 HOW DEATH’S EVOLUTION ESCAPED THE GERONTOLOGIST’S NOTICE......Page 167 WHERE WILL DEATH’S EVOLUTION TAKE US?......Page 171 Appendix:Different Forms of Life and Death......Page 176 Notes......Page 188 Glossary......Page 212 Bibliography......Page 220 B......Page 250 C......Page 251 D......Page 252 E......Page 253 G......Page 254 J......Page 255 M......Page 256 N......Page 257 P......Page 258 S......Page 259 T......Page 260 Z......Page 261 Evolution : Death's Unifying Principle -- Charting Death's Evolution And Life's Extension -- Rethinking Lifecycles And Arrows -- Keeping Life Afloat -- Putting Cells In The Picture -- Neoteny And Longevity. Stanley Shostak. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 205-233) And Index.