Why do we die of old age?

[Praeses]

who do you think programmed that gene in the human race,I always wondered.?

It's not "programmed". Check my post about telomeres.

something I just found: linky

edit: also, telomeres aren't restricted to humans but all eukaryotic organisms (there might be some expections)

[dablakmark8]

will check thnaks

[phenom]

Free radicals, don't they speed up the aging process?

[phenom]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-Radical_Theory
it's like eating red beans, drinking cranberrie juice ect... and such can prolong your lifespan by freeing up free radicals

[Moederloos]

Because the Earth is finite. There's a certain number of resources available, and you can't exceed that limit. A 5 acre plot can only house so many rabbits before some of them have to start dying because the food runs out.

Hmmm, his makes me think of something. Not sure if its the weak anthropic(?) principal or not, but let us give it a go:

We grow old and die, simply because if we did not, we would not be here to discuss the issue.

Consider: A early form of life does not grow old and die, therefore this life form is less likely to evolve. No evolution leads to less evolved life, leads to no "us" to ask the question.

There may well be planets with immortal life - but all that life is very basic, and cannot ask the question "why do we die?".

Just in case a Nobel prize is awarded for that, remember me!
If it is a stupid idea, forget me!

[Praeses]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free-Radical_Theory
it's like eating red beans, drinking cranberrie juice ect... and such can prolong your lifespan by freeing up free radicals

Free radicals easily bind to cell structures/compounds causing them to be broken down by the cell. If too many proteins for instance are affected by free radicals, it may take a while to have them all broken down and they can continue doing their normal processes in a different way eg. cause mutations during DNA replication. If the cell contains too many mutated proteins due to free radicals, the cell will "commit suicide". This is what happens with smokers. Too many free radicals in lung cells -> cells die -> less lung capacity. Cells that do survive might've undergone some bad mutations -> cancer.

Consuming foods containing antioxidants reduce the levels of free radicals -> less mutations, less cell death, cells live longer -> person lives longer.

[phenom]

Nicely put @ Praeses

[drsci4]

Erm, give an example of the animal that's most evolved? If you say human, you are quite wrong
Humans are more successful, but not more evolved than other organisms.

I'd like to disagree with that. I consider evolution to the the ability to adopt to the environment using anatomical or physiological adaptations in the body to achieve that. We humans, as far as I know, are the only species to develop such an advanced civilisations by virtue of our brain function. Electricity, complex social structures, advanced communication, advanced language, religion, formal education, formal housing....I could go on forever...All these are perculiar only to humans. Sure human brains are not the biggest on earth, but they are the smartest. The improvements of human brain function also evolved along with the anatomy of the body. Therefore the consequences of our intellectual evolution cannot be devorced from the physical evolution, which is what most people think of when hearig the word evolution.

[Praeses]

I'd like to disagree with that. I consider evolution to the the ability to adopt to the environment using anatomical or physiological adaptations in the body to achieve that. We humans, as far as I know, are the only species to develop such an advanced civilisations by virtue of our brain function. Electricity, complex social structures, advanced communication, advanced language, religion, formal education, formal housing....I could go on forever...All these are perculiar only to humans. Sure human brains are not the biggest on earth, but they are the smartest. The improvements of human brain function also evolved along with the anatomy of the body. Therefore the consequences of our intellectual evolution cannot be devorced from the physical evolution, which is what most people think of when hearig the word evolution.

All those traits you mentioned are due to highly evolved cognitive functions. My point is, humans are equally evolved compared to...a lion. Lions have more brute strength, hunting instincts etc. than a human. Eagles can see further than humans. Humans are smarter than other animals. We've all come from the same ancestor(s) so all the animals have undergone evolution since time x. Some traits are just more useful than others but on a time-basis, all current organisms are modern and highly evolved, even Bacteria. They have complicated physiological systems too.

[Claymore]

I'd like to disagree with that. I consider evolution to the the ability to adopt to the environment using anatomical or physiological adaptations in the body to achieve that. We humans, as far as I know, are the only species to develop such an advanced civilisations by virtue of our brain function. Electricity, complex social structures, advanced communication, advanced language, religion, formal education, formal housing....I could go on forever...All these are perculiar only to humans. Sure human brains are not the biggest on earth, but they are the smartest. The improvements of human brain function also evolved along with the anatomy of the body. Therefore the consequences of our intellectual evolution cannot be devorced from the physical evolution, which is what most people think of when hearig the word evolution.

I think what you're thinking of could be better termed "adaptation", as that applies more to individuals adapting themselves to their environment, rather than a gene pool (a species) evolving to better survive.

[Praeses]

I think what you're thinking of could be better termed "adaptation", as that applies more to individuals adapting themselves to their environment, rather than a gene pool (a species) evolving to better survive.

I concur ^^^^