This initial chapter introduces those that follow with a summary of the
life spans and end of life pathologies of the several species that are included in later
chapters. It is not presented as a complete coverage, but rather as background for
what follows, as gathered from the literature and personal information. Included
here is that information on yeast as Saccharomyces cervisiae, round worms as
Caenorhabditis. elegans, the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, mice, rats, dogs,
primates, and some bats and birds. The following chapters will compare findings in
their specific area of coverage for those species for which such data is available.
This brief introduction provides generally accepted species wild type life spans and
the end of life pathologies, along with some special attributes that lend a species to
a comparative biology approach.