Hypothesis Volume 5, Issue 4 pp 227—233
Big mice die young but large animals live longer
Figure 2. Big mice and large mammals.
Big mice grow faster than normal and especially dwarf mice. Fast growth is translated in fast aging. In contrast, large mammals develop for a prolonged period of time and aging (a continuation of developmental growth) is slow too. Given that very large animals may have very low extrinsic death rate and therefore may die from aging, natural selection may, in theory, favor deceleration of aging (curve 2).