The Emergent Aging Model: Aging as an Emergent Property of Biological Systems

Abstract: Based on the study of cellular aging using the single-cell model organism of budding yeast and corroborated by other studies, we propose the Emergent Aging Model (EAM). EAM hypothesizes that aging is an emergent property of complex biological systems, exemplified by biological networks such as gene networks. An emergent property refers to traits that a system has at the system level but which its low-level components do not. EAM is based on a quantitative definition of aging using the mortality rate. A biological entity with a constant mortality rate is considered non-aging which is equivalent to a first-order chemical reaction. Aging can be quantitatively defined as an increasing mortality rate over time, corresponding to an organism's increasing chance of dying over time. EAM posits that biological aging can arise at the system level of an organism, even if the system is composed of only non-aging components. EAM is consistent with the observation that aging is largely stochastic, influenced by numerous genes and epigenetic factors, with no single gene or factor known as the bona fide cause of aging. A parsimonious version of EAM can predict the Gompertz model of biological aging, the Strehler-Mildvan correlation, and the trade-off between initial reproductive fitness (asexual reproductive fitness) and late-life survival. EAM has been applied to experimental results of the replicative lifespan of the budding yeast and can potentially offer new insights into the aging process of other biological species.