Does aging have a purpose?
Ideas of proponents and opponents of the programmed aging concerning the feasibility of this phenomenon for the evolution of living organisms are shortly considered. We think that evolution has no “gerontological” purpose, because the obligate restriction of cell proliferation during the development of multicellular organisms is a factor that “automatically” launches aging due to the accumulation in the cells of various macromolecular lesions because of inhibition or even complete cessation of the appearance of new, intact cells. This leads to supression of “dilution” of stochastic damage (the most important of which are DNA lesions) at the level of the entire cellular population. Some additional arguments are also listed in favor of the inexpediency of aging for both species and individual.