QEIB: New Models for the Evolution of Senescence

有两个已经确立的理论，都是在大约50年前发展起来的，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演变的生态和行为力量。利用数学模型和计算机模拟，该项目将开发包括生态和行为力在内的新的衰老模型。最终目标是了解目前无法解释的衰老现象，例如为什么大多数哺乳动物的雌性通常比雄性活得长，或者为什么有些物种逃脱了衰老过程，并帮助预测哪些类型的基因应该与衰老有关。当完成时，这些模型应该让我们更广泛地了解人类和其他物种为什么以及如何衰老，并帮助寻找影响衰老的基因。除了该项目带来的基本科学进步外，这项工作还将提高数学科学教育的质量。该项目促进了主要研究者（一位研究衰老的实验室研究人员）和三位以医学为导向的理论家之间的合作。因此，它将大大提高数学培训的机会，不仅为PI，而且为研究生和本科生在PI的家庭机构。

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.