The good news is that by the end of this decade, we may know most, if not all, of the transcriptions factors active in many cell types and how they interact to initiate or repress transcription. The bad news is that many of us will have to learn physical chemistry to understand these data. But for Volvox , death seems to be as inevitable as it is in a mouse or in a man. Volvox must die because it had children and is no longer needed. When its time comes it drops quietly to the bottom and joins its ancestors.
Every animal has to function as it builds itself.