Hypothesis Paper Volume 18 pp 327—339
From Hydra to rotifer and beyond: implications for human aging and delayed senescence
Schematic of trade-offs in repressed aging. Left: Benefits of continuous stem renewal enabling negative senescence (measurable via survival/fecundity curves, stress assays). Right: Risks including neoplasia from cheater cells or over proliferation. Bottom: Assayable endpoints for monitoring (e.g., proliferation markers for neoplasia, fitness metrics) and mitigation strategies. In this scheme, senescence has dual roles: early tumor suppression via cell arrest (protective) and late-life promotion of inflammation/dysfunction via SASP (detrimental). The strategy prioritizes renewal-based suppression of aging while monitoring both neoplasia risk and SASP-like inflammatory markers.