Aging as the fountain of youth – Why do we age?

Just as bubbles do when they burst.

FIGURE 2. Reproductive advantage, if there were no senescence.

Our organ systems also all seem to wear out at about the same rate, on average. Researchers Strehler and Mildvan have measured the reserve capacity of heart, lungs, kidneys, neurons, and other body systems at different ages and found that these diverse bodily systems deteriorate at remarkably similar rates. By the time a person reaches age 100, every system has lost almost all its capacity for meeting increased demands, so that even the tiniest challenge to any system causes a fatal failure. Senescence itself is not a disease but the result of every bodily capacity steadily declining so that we grow steadily more vulnerable to a myriad of diseases, not only cancer and stroke but also infections, autoimmune diseases, and even accidents.