Basic unresolved problems in biology
is there a consensus view of why we age?
Biology
Despite the profound advances made over recent decades in our understanding of life’s fundamental processes, some basic problems have remained unresolved. For example, one of the major unresolved problems in biology is the primary adaptive function of sex, and particularly its key processes in eukaryotes, meiosis and homologous recombination. One view is that sex evolved primarily as an adaptation for increasing genetic diversity (see references e.g.). An alternative view is that sex is an adaptation for promoting accurate DNA repair in germ-line DNA, and that increased genetic diversity is primarily a byproduct that may be useful in the long run. (See also Evolution of sexual reproduction). Another basic unresolved problem in biology is the biologic basis of aging. At present, there is no consensus view on the underlying cause of aging. Various competing theories are outlined in Ageing#Theories.