QEIB: New Models for the Evolution of Senescence

两种公认的理论都是在大约50年前发展起来的，它们解释了生物体衰老的原因。然而，这些模型忽略了可能影响衰老进化的生态和行为力量。利用数学模型和计算机模拟，该项目将开发新的老龄化模型，其中包括生态和行为力量。最终目标是理解目前无法解释的衰老现象，例如为什么大多数哺乳动物中雌性通常比雄性寿命长，或者为什么一些物种逃脱了衰老过程，并帮助预测哪种基因应该与衰老有关。当这些模型完成后，将使我们更广泛地了解人类和其他物种为什么和如何发生衰老，并有助于寻找影响衰老的基因。除了从这个项目中获得基本的科学进步外，这项工作还将提高数学科学教育的质量。该项目促进了首席研究员（一位研究衰老的实验室研究员）和三位以数学为导向的理论家之间的合作。因此，它将大大增加数学训练的机会，不仅为PI，也为PI所在机构的研究生和本科生。

Two well-established theories, both developed some fifty years ago, explain why organisms age. However, these models omit ecological and behavioral forces that could influence the evolution of aging. Using mathematical models and computer simulations, this project will develop new models of aging that include ecological and behavior forces. The ultimate goal is to understand currently unexplained aging phenomena, such as why females typically outlive males in most mammals or why some species escape the aging process, and to help predict what sorts of genes should be associated with aging.When complete, these models should give us a much broader understanding of why and how aging occurs in humans and other species, and aid the search for genes that influence aging. In addition to the basic scientific advances that will result from this project, this work will also increase the quality of math science education. This project facilitates a collaboration between the principal investigator-a laboratory researcher who works on aging--and three mathematically-oriented theoreticians. As such, it will greatly enhance opportunities for mathematical training not only for the PI, but also for graduate students and undergraduates at the PI's home institution.