Abstract
Fundamental concepts linking programmed death to the evolution of multicellularity were advanced as early as 1881 by August Weismann, a zoologist and pioneer of genetic theories designed to explain development and cell differentiation. Weismann proposed that aging and decay are not inherent to life itself but are events that became integral to development only in the course of evolution of multicellular organisms. Only the multicellular organism would inevitably be doomed, through senescence – the process of aging.
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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Mueller, W.A., Hassel, M., Grealy, M. (2015). Immortality or Ageing and Death: What Is Nature’s Aim?. In: Development and Reproduction in Humans and Animal Model Species. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43784-1_21
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-662-43784-1_21
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Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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