Social Sciences - Desklib

This article provides short answers on the correlation between aging and sexual reproduction in humans. It discusses the disposable soma theory, genetic theory, and the relationship between reproduction age and longevity. The article also explores the causes of aging and the ongoing efforts to find a cure for age-related conditions.

Running head: Social Science 1
Social Sciences
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Social Science 2
Short answers
1. a). During the early stages of human development, senescence which is a condition
that threatens reproduction that needs to get checked. Fecundity and a stable
survival rate is also present during this age. The disposable soma theory suggests
that there is a drastic reduction of reproduction at later stages hence natural
selection favors early reproduction.
b). Yes, aging is directly related to sexual reproduction in humans. According to
the genetic theory, there is antagonistic pleiotropy which might become a negative
correlation in genes. The condition leads to high early fecundity and lower later
survival probabilities (Kowald & Kirkwood, 2015). Thus, selection favors those in the
early reproduction than those in later years. For instance, the early reproduction
does not produce the same quality of offspring as compared to later reproduction.
2. . b ). Delaying reproduction increases longevity.
Longevity is positively correlated with reproduction age and hence the fecundity, a
related trait. History tradeoffs in a natural population get associated with
phenotypic correlations. There is a more significant probability for post-
reproduction survival hence suppression of senescence ( Vaiserman, Lushchak, &
Koliada, 2016).
3. Aging is caused by an accumulation of mutations in somatic cells.
4. Aging is not a mystery as De Grey says. It is instead a condition and a disease to
some extent. The reason is that the research being undertaken places aging as a
condition that requires treatment in order to counter (Gems, 2015). Comprehensive
studies with broad scopes of sufficient details reveal the growing extent to which

Social Science 3
anti-aging efforts have gone. Although high costs might have to get incurred for the
activities that involve anti-aging treatments such as tissue repair, the researcher
thinks that the cost is worth all the efforts (Vijg & De Grey, 2014).
5. Although there are no “non-aging animals” currently, there is every reason to
remain optimistic about the efforts that have to get applied in search of a cure for
age. Aspects such as genetic mutations and the resulting conditions such as
senescence need to get addressed through studies with clear lines of effects
regarding reproduction and other related elements of human life.

Social Science 4
References
Gems, D. (2015). The aging-disease false dichotomy: understanding senescence as
pathology. Frontiers in Genetics, 6, 212.
Kowald, A., & Kirkwood, T. B. (2015). Evolutionary significance of aging in the wild. Experimental
Gerontology, 71, 89-94.
Vaiserman, A. M., Lushchak, V., & Koliada, A. K. (2016). Anti-aging pharmacology: promises and
pitfalls. Aging research reviews, 31, 9-35.
Vijg, J., & De Grey, A. D. (2014). Innovating aging: promises and pitfalls on the road to life
extension. Gerontology, 60(4), 373-380.