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Nature 399, 308-309 (27 May 1999) | doi:10.1038/20557

Ageing:  A message from the gonads

Donald L. Riddle1

Animal evolution is commonly viewed as producing diverse, environmentally adapted bodies to propagate the germ line. The evolutionary theory of ageing suggests that genetic limits to lifespan may be inadvertent consequences of evolutionary selection for maximizing that propagation.