From igor23 At aol.com Sat Jan 6 19:53:09 2007 From: igor23 At aol.com (GeneBean) Date: Sat Jan 13 11:50:18 2007 Subject: [Ageing] New Book: The Evolution of Aging Message-ID: A new book on evolution theory has been released: The Evolution of Aging, ISBN:0978870905, Goldsmith, 200pp Here is a mystery that has puzzled scientists for nearly 150 years: If evolution is driven by survival of the fittest, then how did aging and other traits that reduce survival and fitness ever evolve? Some theorists contended that aging is not a design feature of organisms but rather a defect, fundamental limitation, or unavoidable adverse side-effect of some beneficial function. These theories ignored the other fitness-adverse traits, had many logical flaws, and were unable to obtain experimental confirmation. Recent experimental results provide additional support for aging as an evolved mechanism. This book reviews the traditional theories of aging and the underlying evolution theory issues as well as the observational evidence regarding the nature of aging. The author shows how analysis of the information transfer aspects of the inheritance process ("digital genetics") reveals additional evolved traits that are incompatible with Darwinian evolution theory as well as additional complexity in the evolution process. Author's web site ( http://www.azinet.com/aging/ ) provides book excerpts, additional articles, and links to cited sources.