Abstract
IN 1825, Benjamin Gompertz1 analysed the function expressing the law of human mortality and suggested that the rate of mortality increased in a logarithmic manner with the age of the population. Recently, Kershaw, Chalmers and Lavoipierre2, analysing the pattern of mosquito survival in laboratory conditions, showed that, for a cohort of 1,200, the Gompertz function was linear for both male and female.
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Gompertz, B., Phil. Trans., 513 (1825).
Kershaw, W. E., Chalmers, T. A., and Lavoipierre, M. M. J., Ann. Trop. Med. and Parasit., 49, No. 4, 446 (1954).
Zirkle, R. E., “Biological Effects of External X- and Gamma-Radiation”, Part 1 (McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc., New York 1954).
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CHALMERS, T., KERSHAW, W. & KING, J. The Longevity Function: Some Additional Data from Domestic Animals. Nature 178, 48 (1956). https://doi.org/10.1038/178048a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/178048a0
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