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    An Introduction to Biological Aging Theory
    An Introduction to Biological Aging Theory
    An Introduction to Biological Aging Theory
    Ebook97 pages1 hour

    An Introduction to Biological Aging Theory

    By Theodore Goldsmith

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    About this ebook

    This short book provides an overview of biological aging theories including history, current status, major scientific controversies, and implications for the future of medicine. Major topics include: human mortality as a function of age, aging mechanisms and processes, the programmed vs. non-programmed aging controversy, empirical evidence on aging, and the feasibility of anti-aging and regenerative medicine.

    Evolution theory is essential to aging theories. Theorists have been struggling for 150 years to explain how aging, deterioration, and consequent death fit with Darwin’s survival of the fittest concept. This book explains how continuing genetics discoveries have produced changes in the way we think about evolution that in turn lead to new thinking about the nature of aging.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAzinet Press
    Release dateMay 1, 2011
    ISBN9781458040596
    An Introduction to Biological Aging Theory

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      Book preview

      An Introduction to Biological Aging Theory - Theodore Goldsmith

      Introduction to Biological Aging Theory

      Theodore C. Goldsmith

      Copyright © 2012, 2020 Azinet Press

      E-Book: ISBN-13 978-0-9788709-1-1 ISBN-10 0-9788709-1-3

      Paperback: ISBN-10: 1677359064 ISBN-13: 978-1677359066

      Azinet Press

      Box 239 Crownsville MD 21032

      1-(410) 923-4745

      books@azinet.com

      Keywords: aging, ageing, senescence, evolution, gerontology,

      geriatrics, health and fitness, evolvability, aging theories, regenerative medicine, anti-aging medicine, medical e-books, education

      Cover art: Bulent Ince

      Other illustrations by author

      Editorial assistance: Elaine Evans

      Smashwords Edition

      Revised: 8/24/2012

      Second edition: 4/28/2014

      Revised 1: 12/2/2014

      Revised 2: 1/10/2020

      Publisher’s Notes

      A paperback version of this book is available:

      ISBN: 978-1677359066 https://www.amazon.com/dp/1677359064

      This educational material was written to avoid unnecessary arcane terminology and is considered suitable for AP Biology students and above.

      A set of aging theory questions and answers is in production.

      Please take a moment to rate this book. If you liked or disliked something about this book, the publisher, author, and future readers would very much appreciate it if you would also write a customer review.

      Comments, suggestions, or inquiries for the publisher may be sent to: books@azinet.com. Please include book title and version in your communication.

      The author’s blog may be found at: http://aging-theories.org

      A listing of other books on aging by this author can be found at:

      http://www.azinet.com/aging/

      --Azinet Press—

      Introduction

      Human Mortality

      Legacy Aging Theories

      Aging – Key Observations

      Modern Aging Theories

      Evolutionary Mechanics Theory and Aging

      Non-Programmed Aging Concepts 1952+

      The Force of Evolution Declines with Age

      Aging Must Convey a Compensating Evolutionary Advantage

      Inter-Trait Genomic Linkage Concept Introduced

      Modern Evolutionary Mechanics Concepts 1962+

      Population Benefit Theories

      Evolvability Theories

      Programmed Mammal Aging

      Evolutionary Value of Life

      Aging Mechanisms and Processes

      1. Simple Deterioration

      2. Maintenance and Repair

      3. Programmed Aging

      4. Regulated Programmed Aging

      Programmed Lifespan Regulation Strategy

      Aging as a Biological Function

      Empirical Evidence Supporting Programmed Aging

      Genetics Discoveries Affecting Evolutionary Mechanics

      Lifespan Regulation by Sensing of External Conditions

      Caloric Restriction and Lifespan

      Stress and Lifespan

      Aging Genes

      Hutchinson-Guilford Progeria and Werner Syndrome

      Negligible Senescence

      Octopus Suicide

      Programmed Cell Death -- Apoptosis

      Superficial Nature of Lifespan

      Hormones - Blood Experiments

      Non-Science Factors Favor Non-Programmed Theories

      Programmed/ Non-Programmed Controversy - Status

      Recent Arguments Against Non-Programmed Aging

      Arguments Against the Disposable Soma Theory

      Arguments Against the Antagonistic Pleiotropy Theory

      Issues with Non-Programmed Aging Mechanisms

      Recent Arguments Against Programmed Aging

      Social Issues with Aging Theories

      Anti-Aging Medicine

      Anti-Aging Research

      Summary

      Further Reading

      References

      Introduction

      This book summarizes the current situation, history, major controversies, and medical implications of scientific biological aging theories.

      Scientific theories of biological aging (senescence) attempt to answer two questions:

      How do we age? What are the specific biological mechanisms that cause aging? Aging is a very difficult subject for experimental investigation for two reasons:

      First, aging is very diffuse and affects many different systems and tissues. If, for example, aging only affected the liver, we would have probably long since definitively determined the mechanisms behind aging.

      Second, aging is a long-term process. An experiment to determine if a pharmaceutical agent suppresses a particular pathogen or helps with pain could be performed in a matter of days. An experiment to determine if an agent or protocol increases lifespan in humans or other mammals could take years or decades to perform.

      Understanding the aging process is critical to our ability to understand and treat highly age-related diseases such as cancer and heart disease that currently kill the majority of people that die in developed countries, some at relatively young ages.

      Why do we age? It is apparent that aging and lifespan characteristics are very specific to individual species and vary greatly between even very similar species. We can define lifespan as the age a typical individual would achieve in the absence of any external limitations such as predators, starvation, lack of suitable habitat or food supply, or harsh environmental conditions i.e. internal limitations on life time.

      Mammal lifespans vary over a range of more than 200 to 1 between Bowhead whale (> 200 years) and the shortest-lived mouse (~0.8 years), and fish lifespans vary over a range of at least 1300 to 1 from Pygmy Gobi (8 weeks) to Koi (> 200 years). Some aspect of the design of each particular species therefore must determine lifespan. We look to evolution theory to explain why different species have different designs and evolution theory is consequently critical to attempts to explain why we age. Unfortunately, as will be described, aging and lifespan observations are among the few observations that appear to conflict with Darwin’s ideas and no wide scientific agreement has been reached regarding evolutionary explanations for aging despite more than 160 years of effort.

      Because of the experimental difficulties, theories as to why we age are very important in providing guidance to experimental approaches in medical research on diseases of aging. Many experimental proposals are suggested by a specific evolution-based aging theory.

      As will be described, current arguments regarding the nature of aging are essentially arguments regarding arcane details of the evolution process.

      Human Mortality

      Fig. 1

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