X-Message-Number: 29012
Date: Wed, 24 Jan 2007 18:44:49 +0100
From: "Eivind Berge" <>
Subject: Immortal Birds?

Marta Sandberg (Msg. #29010) brought up a kind of bird called fulmar
that apparently does not grow old, and asked for more information.
That would be incredibly intriguing if true, so I searched and found a
great article by a Portuguese microbiologist working on the biology of
aging named Joao Pedro de Magalhaes, titled "Species Selection in
Comparative Studies of Aging and Antiaging Research":
http://jp.senescence.info/career/models06.pdf

Quote from page 16: "There are no confirmed birds with negligible
senescence, though fulmars and the Andean condor age very slowly, if
they age at all. The northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), for
example, likely ages more slowly than humans. The longest-lived bird,
however, is reported to be the Andean condor (Vultur gryphus), which
can live up to 75 years. Senescence has not been described in these
animals, though detailed studies are lacking."

(Also check out his personal website,
http://jp.senescence.info/
with links to more information on aging and even transhumanism!)

I also found an older study, "The Estimation of Survival Rate in the
Fulmar, Fulmarus glacialis." G. M. Dunnet; Janet C. Ollason. _The
Journal of Animal Ecology_, Vol. 47, No. 2. (Jun., 1978), pp. 507-520.
http://www.jstor.org/view/00218790/ap990111/99a00100/0
(requires subscription -- if any of you don't have access and want it,
just email me and I'll send you a pdf copy), which concludes that
"there is evidence of a decline in survival rate with age, though
breeding success is positively correlated with age." My guess is that
these birds do indeed age, albeit very slowly. Unfortunately it seems
that no advanced animal has yet found a way to avoid aging altogether.

Eivind Berge

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