Why do tall people die earlier and larger animals — no?

Date:

2017-03-03 20:00:06

Views:

3709

Rating:

1Like 0Dislike

Share:

Why do tall people die earlier and larger animals — no? Source:

The tallest man in Europe, 2,34-foot former basketball player, actor Neil Fingleton, who played the role in "Game of thrones", "X-Men" and "the Avengers", has died at the age of 36. Such an early death for people tall is not uncommon. Robert Wadlow, the tallest man in the world, died at the age of 22; of the 10 tallest of people, only one lived to be 56 years old. Among men the growth is negatively correlated with longevity; tall people don't live long.

If we push aside these unusual examples and talk in General, among the people really the tendency to reduce the quality of life along with increased growth. For example, higher women are likely to suffer from cancer in old age, in postclimacteric life. In a study of civil servants in Whitehall the height noted as concomitant cancer, stroke and cardiovascular diseases followed by death.

Nevertheless, the biology of the larger mammals live longer, for example, elephants from 40 to 75 years, whales are from 35 to 110 years old than the small ones such as mice and rats is about 12 months. Why height is not associated with long lifespan in humans?

Why high growth, such a useful feature and may even be an evolutionary advantage for our ancestors, hunter-gatherers who plays against us? There are two good hypotheses, one about nature, the other about the case, but they can be linked.

In recent years many studies have been conducted on the topic of what (to eat less) is associated with increased life expectancy. Faced with a limited amount of food available, animals tend to live longer.

We observed that the worms, mice, dogs, monkeys, and maybe even in humans. In fact, children who had survived the Second world war and the famine, show a striking lifespan. Why is it important? Because all of them have one thing in common: they ate less food. Therefore, the average height of a population can be a rough marker of the availability of food in childhood and adolescence, when one grows the fastest. It is a hypothesis of the case.

With regard to natural hypotheses, it may seem obvious, but genetics also determines the height. "The height of the family" is passed through genes, which determine the growth.

In particular, the gene FOXO3 is a common variation, which is associated with lifespan in worms, flies and humans. This gene has many roles, he contributes to the activation of stem cells, control mechanisms of cell death and changes the efficiency of insulin and insulin-like growth factors. They all play a role in how the body feels, how much he has energy and what growth it can provide beyond what is necessary for the body to maintain the amount of nutrients and energy. Therefore, the change in the gene FOXO3 may contribute to a hypothetical connection between lifespan, growth, and calorie consumption, sending more or less energy in the growing organism.

So while high growth is associated with short lifespan, we don't yet understand exactly how. There are good studies related to genetics and lifestyle, which may say that you just need to eat less to live longer. It would seem that the words simple and clear, but to get people to eat less has always been difficult.

Recommended

What will be the shelter for the first Martian colonists?

What will be the shelter for the first Martian colonists?

Mars is not the friendliest planet for humans While the Red Planet is roaming rovers, researchers are pondering the construction of shelters and materials needed by future Martian colonists. The authors of the new paper suggest that we could use one ...

New proof of string theory discovered

New proof of string theory discovered

Just a few years ago, it seemed that string theory was the new theory of everything. But today the string universe raises more questions than answers String theory is designed to combine all our knowledge of the Universe and explain it. When she appe...

What is the four-dimensional space?

What is the four-dimensional space?

Modeling camera motion in four-dimensional space. View the world in different dimensions changes the way we perceive everything around, including time and space. Think about the difference between two dimensions and three dimensions is easy, but what...

Comments (0)

This article has no comment, be the first!

Add comment

Related News

Would agree on the genetic modification of the dog for the sake of her health?

Would agree on the genetic modification of the dog for the sake of her health?

dogs Have more genetic diseases than any other species on the planet — that you any biologist will confirm. Not gonna lie: no other animal people are not taken out so purposefully and long to form prevailed over substance — appear...

The merging of man and machine will not stop the rise of the machines

The merging of man and machine will not stop the rise of the machines

Tesla CEO and founder OpenAI Elon Musk last week suggested that humanity could nullify your fear of the rise of the machines (i.e. robots) due to the merger with these same machines and becoming cyborgs. However, modern trends in ...

The oldest discovered to date, the traces of life on Earth

The oldest discovered to date, the traces of life on Earth

the Origin of life on planet Earth is a very important subject for scientific research. Regular findings and discoveries constantly shift the moment the first living organism on and on . So this time canadian scientists discovered...

Can you live eating only one type of food?

Can you live eating only one type of food?

We are constantly told about the benefits of a varied diet. But if you had to survive on only one type of food — which one would leave you the longest life? Not by bread alone — at least because after a month of this experiment wi...

Some scholars categorically against the revival of extinct species

Some scholars categorically against the revival of extinct species

last month, the entire scientific community of the desire of Harvard scientists resurrect extinct species of animals. George Church from Harvard University, studying extinct species, said that in the coming years is going to resur...

In plants raised electrical circuit

In plants raised electrical circuit

Plants nourish life on Earth. They represent the original source of food, supplying energy to almost all living organisms and are the basis of fossil fuels, which feed the energy needs of the modern world. But the burning of long-...

Created flexible fibers conducting impulses to the brain and back

Created flexible fibers conducting impulses to the brain and back

according to the publication Medical Xpress, a large group of researchers, including engineers, chemists and neuroscientists, including many graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of technology (MIT) introduced a flexible fiber ...

Tomsk scientists have created a tiny, powerful particle accelerator

Tomsk scientists have created a tiny, powerful particle accelerator

Recently we wrote about the fact that on the basis of Tomsk Polytechnic University (TPU) made from the walls of the same educational institutions came not less interesting news. The specialists of TPU managed to develop a miniatur...

If atoms are mostly empty, why things are firm to the touch and in appearance?

If atoms are mostly empty, why things are firm to the touch and in appearance?

Chemist John Dalton proposed the theory that all matter and objects are made up of particles — atoms, and this theory is still accepted by the scientific community, after two hundred years. Each of these atoms consists of an extre...

Using neural network was able to simulate the behavior of complex quantum systems

Using neural network was able to simulate the behavior of complex quantum systems

the Modeling of complex organized quantum systems on today — an extremely difficult task. The fact that the traditional methods are not suitable here, since with increasing system complexity the number of States increases ex...

Which end is waiting for the Solar system?

Which end is waiting for the Solar system?

it took 13.8 billion years of cosmic evolution, so we ended up here. Generation of stars had to live and die to create heavy elements; tiny protogalaxies had to merge to form the milky Way; clouds of interstellar gas were to colla...

Anthropic principle: the warped idea of physics

Anthropic principle: the warped idea of physics

the Universe has fundamental laws that we can observe. In it we exist, things that we created, and all this, too, is subject to fundamental laws. Based on this you can build two very simple statements that would be very difficult ...

The time? Five of the best theories on the topic of the fourth dimension

The time? Five of the best theories on the topic of the fourth dimension

"Time is what prevents everything to happen at once." Statement by physicist John Wheeler fair summary of what makes the time, unlike anything else. This especially stands out on the background of the fact that our hunt for the mo...

How is SKOLKOVO? Report from the innovation center

How is SKOLKOVO? Report from the innovation center

This project was called the toy Medvedev, promising the beginning of a journey to the "kazaniu the oil needle", the Russian Silicon valley, a Potemkin village with unlimited funding. Despite political and economic instability, the...

Beneath the island of Mauritius traces of the

Beneath the island of Mauritius traces of the "lost continent"

Scientists have confirmed the existence of a "lost continent" beneath the island of Mauritius in the Indian ocean, which remained after the breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, which began 200 million years ago. Part of the cru...

Bioengineers have created artificial cells that have

Bioengineers have created artificial cells that have "passed the Turing test"

Scientists have created an artificial cell that turned out to be so similar to the living that it was misled by these cells, with which they were placed, and the latter began to try to communicate with them. This kind of "option" ...

Scientists have found a cheap method of production of graphene

Scientists have found a cheap method of production of graphene

without any exaggeration can be called the "material of the future". And then we hear about how researchers from different countries are discovering new properties of graphene, opening to mankind huge number of exciting . The mat...

Hi-tech knitting, or How to tie their exoskeleton

Hi-tech knitting, or How to tie their exoskeleton

it Seems that creating super cool clothing will be one of the main trends in the fashion industry in the near future. Recently we reported about that, as did the even more interesting information. A group of researchers from Swede...

The cost of Russian science is proposed to reduce by 10%

The cost of Russian science is proposed to reduce by 10%

the Ministry of education and science of the Russian Federation has prepared a draft resolution that would reduce spending on the development of scientific-technical complex of the state in the period from 2017 to 2019 on 25 billi...

Drops that

Drops that "come to life": how else could it receive life?

Still driving the bus, we knew that raindrops drained and spread out on the glass from the other side. Then we grew up and learned that oil droplets in water merge together, forming larger drops until you gather everything into on...