One might expect that within a particular species, any individuals that managed to slow down the aging process would leave more offspring. Natural selection should therefore favor extreme longevity—but this does not seem to be the case. A possible explanation is that aging is a product of the inevitable wear and tear of living, similar to how household appliances generally accumulate faults that lead to their eventual demise. However, most researchers do not find this analogy satisfactory as an explanation.
-Natural selection should favour longevity (since individuals who live longer leave more offspring)
-Natural selection does not seem to favour longevity
-Explanation for phenomenon is that aging is a product of wear and tear, similar to how appliances accumulate faults leading to their end of life
-Most researchers do not like the analogy
A strengthener here would be something that points out why the analogy is inappropriate…perhaps because appliances are missing some feature of the aging process or that they are different in some fundamental way. After all, you’re comparing technology with living organisms.
Which of the following would, if true, provide the strongest explanation for the researchers' reaction?
A. Some organisms are capable of living much longer than other organisms.
-irrelevant
B. Some organisms reproduce very quickly despite having short lifespans.
-explains why natural selection does not necessarily favour longer lifespans…after all the job of ensuring species propagation can be done with less resources (i.e. living shorter lives)
C. There are several ways of defining “extreme longevity,” and according to some definitions it occurs frequently.
-this choice seems to question the truth of one of the premises…OUT
D. Organisms are capable of maintenance and self-repair and can remedy much of the damage that they accumulate.
-Correct; organisms are…well…living…this choice tells us what some of those features are that distinguish organisms from appliances which by all accounts don’t self-repair and maintain (getting fixed is besides the point…that’s not an example of self-regulation)…simply this choice justifies the researchers reaction that the comparison is inappropriate
E. Some organisms generate much more wear and tear on their bodies than others.
-plausible, but besides the point
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"Do not pray for an easy life, pray for the strength to endure a difficult one." - Bruce Lee