Aging as a mean to retain an adaptive mutation rate in mutagenesis with asymmetric reproduction

Abstract

The paper discusses a connection between asymmetric reproduction -- that is reproduction in a parent-child relationship where the parent does not mutate during reproduction --, the fact that all non-viral lifeforms bear genes of their reproduction machinery and how this could relate to evolutionary mechanisms behind aging. In a highly simplified model of the evolution process rules are derived under which aging is an important factor of the adaption in the evolution process and what groups of life-forms necessarily have to age and where exceptions from that rule are possible.