Citation

Azbel' MY. Phys. Rev. E Stat. Nonlin. Soft Matter Phys. 2002; 66(1 Pt 2): 016107.

Affiliation

School of Physics and Astronomy, Tel-Aviv University, Ramat Aviv 69978, Israel. azbel@post.tau.ac.il

Copyright

(Copyright © 2002, American Physical Society, Publisher American Institute of Physics)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

12241426

Abstract

Mortality is arguably the best statistically quantified biological phenomenon. This allows for a physical approach to its study. I establish that in well protected populations, a dominant fraction of mortality at a given age depends on a single parameter only. Such invariance to any other time and space changes is known only in general relativity. It is so mathematically restrictive that, with no other knowledge of experimental data, it is sufficient to predict the exact law. It is universal for species as remote as humans and flies. The law unravels its biologically nonspecific thermodynamic mechanism. It implies that within a couple of years human mortality may be reset to its value at a much younger age. The reversal (albeit not yet as rapid) is consistent with demographic data. For instance, Swedish females, born in 1916, at 48 yr restored their mortality rate 28 yr earlier. The law and its other predictions and implications are also verified. The universal law suggests that a dominant fraction of mortality in well protected populations is just a by-product, which may be eliminated. Total mortality can be significantly decreased.

Language: en