© WikimediaFour turtle species: Red-bellied short-necked turtle (Emydura subglobosa), Indian flapshell turtle (Lissemys punctata), Galápagos tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra), and Hawksbill sea turtle (Eretmochelys imbricata).
Reduce weakening and deterioration with age. Evolutionary theories of ageing predict that all living organisms weaken and deteriorate with age and eventually die.
Now, researchers show that certain animal species, such as turtles and tortoises, may exhibit slower or even absent senescence when their living conditions improve. All living organisms age and die - there is no way of escaping death. But not all organisms follow the same pattern of weakening and deterioration to old age and death, a process known as senescence.
Counter-intuitive as it may seem.
Contrary to widespread theories of aging, we show that
many species of turtles and tortoises have found a way to slow down or even completely switch off senescence. This means that senescence is not inevitable for all organisms, said biologist Rita da Silva, who was at University of Southern Denmark when the work was done.
She and other researchers from University of Southern Denmark have published a new study in
Science, looking at tortoises and turtles living in zoos and aquariums.
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