A damage accumulation model reveals strategies of aging across species

A damage accumulation model reveals strategies of aging across species | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Article A damage accumulation model reveals strategies of aging across species Naveh Raz, Yifan Yang, Glen Pridham, Ben Shenhar, Shachaf Frenkel, and 4 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6946440/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Different species age in similar ways but their lifespans differ by orders of magnitude. It is not clear how these similarities and differences arise from the accumulation of damage that underlies aging. Does long lifespan arise from reduced damage production, increased removal, or enhanced robustness to damage? To address this we apply a stochastic model of damage accumulation and removal, known as the saturating removal model, and fit it to survival data from well-studied species. Several parameters have near-universal values including removal rate, noise amplitude and death threshold. Lifespan differences arise primarily from the damage production rate, which spans seven orders of magnitude. We identify two distinct aging regimes: ballistic aging where damage production outpaces removal, characterising yeast, nematodes, flies and mice, and quasi-steady-state aging where damage production and removal are balanced until old age, characterizing humans, dogs, and cats. These principles offer a mechanistic basis for comparative aging. Biological sciences/Systems biology/Population dynamics Biological sciences/Systems biology/Bayesian inference Biological sciences/Systems biology/Stochastic modelling Biological sciences/Systems biology/Numerical simulations Full Text Additional Declarations There is NO Competing Interest. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6946440","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":480611325,"identity":"e89146c1-10f8-4092-9ef6-8231d4c2c8be","order_by":0,"name":"Naveh 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It is not clear how these similarities and differences arise from the accumulation of damage that underlies aging. Does long lifespan arise from reduced damage production, increased removal, or enhanced robustness to damage? To address this we apply a stochastic model of damage accumulation and removal, known as the saturating removal model, and fit it to survival data from well-studied species. Several parameters have near-universal values including removal rate, noise amplitude and death threshold. Lifespan differences arise primarily from the damage production rate, which spans seven orders of magnitude. We identify two distinct aging regimes: ballistic aging where damage production outpaces removal, characterising yeast, nematodes, flies and mice, and quasi-steady-state aging where damage production and removal are balanced until old age, characterizing humans, dogs, and cats. 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