Evolvable Soma Theory of Ageing: Insights from Computer Simulations

TL;DR

This paper introduces the Evolvable Soma Theory of Ageing (ESTA), proposing that ageing results from evolution's ongoing process, supported by computer simulations showing the benefits of evolvable gene onsets for biological plausibility and efficiency.

Contribution

The study provides computational evidence for ESTA, highlighting the advantages of evolvable gene onsets over fixed ones in simulating ageing.

Findings

Evolvable gene onsets improve simulation performance.

ESTA aligns with biological ageing processes.

Evolvable soma hypothesis outperforms fixed models.

Abstract

Biological evolution continuously refines the design of species, resulting in highly optimised organisms over hundreds of millennia. Intuitively, we expect that random changes-evolution's primary mechanism-are more likely to be harmful than beneficial, leading to widespread detrimental effects in evolving species. The Evolvable Soma Theory of Ageing (ESTA) suggests that ageing is the cumulative result of these harmful effects, which predominantly cause bodily damage, while a few may lead to beneficial adaptations that evolution can exploit. While the disposable soma theory views ageing as a consequence of limited evolutionary pressure, ESTA posits that ageing is essentially evolution in action. In this study, we gather evidence supporting this theory through computer simulations. We conduct experiments using a platform where genes are linked to onset values that determine when they are expressed. Three scenarios are tested: one with single-point fitness evaluation, constant mutation rate and fixed gene onsets; one with single-point fitness evaluation, onset-dependent mutation rate and fixed gene onsets; and one with spread fitness evaluation, onset-dependent mutation rate and evolvable gene onsets. The last scenario, which embodies the evolvable soma hypothesis, demonstrates superior performance in both algorithmic efficiency and biological plausibility compared to the others.