Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

Evolution of Senescence and Specific Longevity

Nature volume 220, pages 281–282 (1968)Cite this article

Abstract

COMFORT'S recent article1 prompts us to comment on an aspect of the evolution of senescence: particularly on the question why, given equally good environments, organisms differ very greatly in longevity. We agree with Comfort2 in defining senescence as the total effect of all changes which occur in an organism as it ages and which render it more vulnerable or less viable. We define specific longevity as the time from birth to 99 per cent mortality in a cohort.

Your institute does not have access to this article

Access options

Buy article

Get time limited or full article access on ReadCube.

$32.00

Buy

All prices are NET prices.

References

  1. Comfort, A., Nature, 217, 320 (1968).

    ADS  CAS  Article  Google Scholar 

  2. Comfort, A., Ageing—The Biology of Senescence (Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1964).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Medawar, P. B., An Unsolved Problem of Biology (H. K. Lewis, London 1952).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Williams, G. C., Evolution, 11, 398 (1957).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Life Sciences, University of California, Riverside, California

    E. B. EDNEY & ROBERT W. GILL

Authors
  1. E. B. EDNEY
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. ROBERT W. GILL
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

EDNEY, E., GILL, R. Evolution of Senescence and Specific Longevity. Nature 220, 281–282 (1968). https://doi.org/10.1038/220281a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Revised:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/220281a0

Further reading

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing