Concept for Mammalian Negligible Aging

This concept paper proposes a framework for achieving negligible physical aging in placental mammals. The central hypothesis is that normal development from the zygote could be followed, after biological maturity, by a regulated maintenance state in which mitochondrial deterioration, genomic instability, epigenetic drift, loss of stem-cell capacity, protein and tissue damage, and immune decline are continuously balanced by repair and replacement, so that the net rate of biological deterioration approaches zero (R → 0). Particular emphasis is placed on mitochondrial genome stability, heteroplasmy control, mitophagy and mitochondrial replacement, preservation of genomic imprinting, nuclear DNA repair, epigenetic rejuvenation without loss of cellular identity, stem-cell maintenance, tissue renewal, immune function, and cancer suppression. This document is intentionally provocative. It presents a general biological architecture in strong terms so that its assumptions can be challenged, falsified, replaced, or improved. Its purpose is to create a skeleton that gives researchers and independent AI systems something concrete to attack. Strong criticism, contradictory evidence, alternative mechanisms, and experiments capable of disproving individual components are therefore part of the intended development of this concept. A living collaborative version is maintained separately so that researchers can add criticisms, alternative mechanisms, and refinements.