Why is life longer for some?

[Donald McGlinn]

Why do all living things have such vastly different lifespans? Why is it that more than one species has a longer lifespan than humans? Why do some insects only last a few days and a Galapagos Giant Turtle averages 150 years?

[CFTraveler]

Metabolism. I forgot the name (It'll come back at another time, and I'll blurt it out, and everyone will stare at me) of the term for programmed cell death, but we all come with it, and the faster turnover is, the closer you get to that final time.

[ButterflyWoman]

Why are the wheels and cogs inside a clock different sizes? Why not just make them all the same size? Same reason.

[DarkChylde]

genetic degradation - over time the telomeres and the double helix itself "wears out" and no amount of anti-oxidant repair can re-anneal broken strands of DNA.

[CFTraveler]

I found apoptosis but it's not the word I had in mind. Dang! My brain's foggy atm.

[Beekeeper]

You choose the ideal vehicle to facilitate the lessons you chose to learn in an incarnation and you're subject to its genetic dispositions and the environmental conditions that come with where you incarnate. Maybe.

[CFTraveler]

I wonder if Galapagos turtles get bored.

[Genesis]

A better question would be, why do some humans live longer than others? Luck? Fate?

[eyeoneblack]

I wonder if Galapagos turtles get bored.

I think turtles are just kinda' stoned all the time... 8)