An exact law can test biological theories of mortality.

Abstract excerpt

Wild animals rarely grow old, and die due to extrinsic hazards. So, natural selection favors genes with good early effects even when they lead to senescence and death at later ages. This implies the Medawar accumulation of late-acting deleterious effects and Williams-Kirkwood life-history trade-off: mortality of a generation strongly depends on its early age life history. Human and protected animal populations...

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