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Mice are very different from humans in that they are prey and we are predator. The reason that this is significant is that evolutionary, mice life history is op
by CraftingLinks 2y ago
Mice are very different from humans in that they are prey and we are predator. The reason that this is significant is that evolutionary, mice life history is optimalized for more offspring and shorter life, whereas predators are optimized for long life and few offspring. We know since 1993 with the discovery of the daf-2 gene (a nematode insulin receptor) that genetics can drastically affect longevity. However, and this is my own professional hypothesis, in humans we have tuned the genetic dial to max lifespan, whereas in mice and worms it is not. In these animals there is plenty of flexibility left to tune up lifespan, not so in humans. We may see moderate effects due to increased health though.
- thaumasiotes 2y ago> We know since 1993 with the discovery of the daf-2 gene (a nematode insulin receptor) that genetics can drastically affect longevity. We've known that since we observed that humans can easily live more than 70 years while cats tend not to go past 20. And presumably well before then.
- james-revisoai 2y agoPlease can you tell me more about the daf-2 gene and it's role in lifespan for nematodes? Any explainers on this? How does insulin relate to it - the metabolic aspect?
- CraftingLinks 2y agoI can point you to the abstract of my PhD: https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/3075889 https://biblio.ugent.be/publication/3075889. Mutations in the daf-2 gene tend to result in huge shifts in physiological and metabolic makeup. The challenge is discriminating those changes that are relevant for longevity from those that are not.
- Yacovlewis 2y agoThis is super interesting. Where are you planning on taking/applying this?