Bu siness skills: b et ter me etings 1 — 21 business englisch bu sin es s e n g L is

in good repair
,
in gutem Zustand
maintenance
,
hier:
Erhaltung, 
Versorgung
mammal 
[(mÄm&l]
,
Säugetier
niche 
[ni:S]
,
Nische
pet
,
Haustier
predator 
[(predEtE]
,
Räuber, Fressfeind
prey
,
Beute
disposable soma theory. Mice with wings would 
start to live longer firstly by avoiding predators, while 
those flying mice with slightly better cell repair sys-
tems than others would live even longer and so begin 
a gradual improvement in cell maintenance, which, 
over generations, would produce a flying mouse — a 
bat, in other words — that lives for much longer. And 
that is what we see in nature, says Kirkwood.
A similar effect is seen in humans and chimpan-
zees. The two species evolved from a common ances-
tor about seven million years ago. “Over that time, 
we have evolved bigger and bigger brains that have 
made it easier for us to develop strategies for surviv-
ing for longer periods, and so our cell maintenance 
services have had to improve,” says Kirkwood. As a 
result, he adds, our lifespans are now twice those of 
chimpanzees.
“The crucial point to realize is that organisms 
didn’t evolve to die,” adds Clancy. “They evolved to 
survive. The first organisms that appeared on earth 
may only have had very short existences, but as new 
niches were found, expectations of living longer 
have slowly risen. Today, as a result, life endures for 
vary ing lengths of time across the globe in just about 
every possible place.”
© Guardian News & Media 2020
“The crucial point 
to realize is that 
organisms didn’t 
evolve to die”
Ancient: the 
bristlecone pine

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