Dinosaurs may have influenced how humans age

 

Human aging may have been influenced by millions of years of dinosaur dominance, according to a new theory from a leading aging expert

The “longevity bottleneck” hypothesis has been proposed by Professor Joao Pedro de Magalhaes of the University of Birminghan in a new study published in BioEssays. The hypothesis relates the role that dinosaurs played for more than 100 million years to aging process of mammals.

While some reptiles and amphibians do not show significant sings of aging, all mammals, including humans, show a marked aging process.

Professor de Magalhaes’s hypothesis suggests that during the Mesozoic Era, mammals faced persistent pressure for rapid reproduction during the reign of the dinosaurs, which for more than 100 million years led to the loss or inactivation of genes associated with long life, such as processes with tissue regeneration and DNA repair.

Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, Professor of Molecular Biogerontology at the Institute of Inflammation and Aging at the University of Birminghan, explain: “The ‘longevity bottleneck hypothesis’ may shed light on the evolutionary forces that have shaped the aging of people. Mammals for millions of years. While humans are among the longest-lived animals, there are many reptiles and other animals that have a much slower aging process and show minimal sings of senescence throughout their lives”.