The discovery of these genes dates back to the 1970s, when scientists found that removing certain glands from a female octopus could postpone her otherwise inevitable death. Normally, a female octopus will stop eating and die, like clockwork, ten days after she finishes tending her eggs. But surgically removing the glands that control maturation and breeding resulted in an octopus that behaved quite differently. After laying her eggs, she resumed eating and survived for another six months.9 Scientists have similarly pinpointed genes with no known purpose other than to trigger deterioration and
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