The Mystery Of Human Aging

How can we turn back the clock? Health food, gyms and cosmetic companies promise us everlasting youth, but the effects of aging are caused by complex biological processes at the level of the cell. The author shows what we can do to protect ourselves and what exciting breakthroughs scientists are still working on, and he asks which industries benefit by peddling dubious information and dubious remedies. He also looks at why we are so keen to deny that we are aging, when indeed, aging is a part of life - for everything from bacteria to humans.

For centuries people have puzzled over the inevitability of human aging. At the end of the 20th century a remarkable scientific discovery emerged, based on a series of important interconnected insights over quite a long period of time. The aim of this book is to dispel ignorance by explaining in non-technical language what are the reasons for aging and the myth of excessive prolongation of life.

As recent articles about "the graying of America" suggest, a demographic revolution is well underway. The number of people living into extreme old age is increasing dramatically. By the year 2050 one in five of the world's population, including the developing countries, will be 65 or older, a fact which presages profound medical, biological, philosophical, and political changes in the coming century. In Time of Our Lives, Tom Kirkwood unfolds some of the deepest mysteries of medical science while demolishing some of the most persistent misconceptions. He overturns the almost universally held belief that aging is either necessary or inevitable--it isn't--and debunks the idea that there exists a "death gene" that evolved to inhibit population growth. Instead, Kirkwood shows that we age because our genes, evolving at a time when life was "nasty, brutish, and short," placed little priority on the long-term maintenance of our bodies. With such knowledge, along with new insights from genome research, we can devise ways to target the root causes of aging and of age-related diseases such as Alzheimer's and osteoporosis. Expanding his thesis of the "disposable soma," developed over twenty years of research, Kirkwood makes sense of the evolution of aging, explains how aging occurs, and answers fundamental questions like why women live longer than men. He even considers the possibility that human beings will someday have greatly extended life spans or even be free from senescence altogether. Beautifully written by one of the world's pioneering researchers into the science of aging, Time of Our Lives is a clear, original and, above all, inspiring investigation of a process all of us experience but few of us understand.

One scientist's quest to solve the mystery of human aging.

Many of the more serious public health problems of our day relate to the later years of life; and one of the most challenging issues for scholarly study is the mystery of the phenomenon of aging itself. This volume presents the efforts of 22 investigators and is primarily directed toward the understanding of the aging experience and the processes it involves. However, consonant with the premise of science that pure inquiry affords practical consequences, the public health implications of this work are obvious. Two strategies are clear in this study: first, the selection of the healthy, community-dwelling aged so that we may look anew at the prevailing ideas and research findings concerning the aged and aging which heretofore have stemmed primarily from studies of the sick and institutionalized; second, the introduction of the collaborative, multidisciplinary approach so that there can be a more complete and accurate evaluation of the many factors known, or believed, to determine the overt manifestations of aging. As important as the substantive findings, are the methods used in the research investigations. Despite the public health significance of the problems affecting the aged, ranging from sensory handicaps, to housing, to mental and physical illness, there has been a relative neglect of the study, care, and treatment of the aged. Basic inquiry into the final stages of life, therefore, is a welcome contribution to our public health effort in this country. It is opportune in many ways that this volume appears now at a time of increased national concern for the welfare of our older citizens and for the study and improvement of their health and welfare. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2005 APA, all rights reserved).

Anyone who has watched a wrinkle slowly gouge their face like a strip mine, or has been disturbed by a loss of memory, has uncomfortably confronted the human ageing process. The inexorable march of time on our bodies begs an important question: why do we have to grow old? Written in everyday language, The Clock of Ages takes us on a tour of the ageing human body - all from a research scientist's point of view. From the deliberate creation of organisms that live three times their natural span to the isolation of human genes that may allow us to do the same, The Clock of Ages also examines the latest discoveries in geriatric genetics. Sprinkled throughout the pages are descriptions of the aging of many historical figures, such as Florence Nightingale, Jane Austen, Bonaparte and Casanova. These stories underscore the common bond that unites us all: they aged, even as we do. The Clock of Ages tells you why.

In 1986 Dr. David Snowdon, one of the world’s leading experts on Alzheimer’s disease, embarked on a revolutionary scientific study that would forever change the way we view aging—and ultimately living. Dubbed the “Nun Study” because it involves a unique population of 678 Catholic sisters, this remarkable long-term research project has made headlines worldwide with its provocative discoveries. Yet Aging with Grace is more than a groundbreaking health and science book. It is the inspiring human story of these remarkable women—ranging in age from 74 to 106—whose dedication to serving others may help all of us live longer and healthier lives. Totally accessible, with fascinating portraits of the nuns and the scientists who study them, Aging with Grace also offers a wealth of practical findings: • Why building linguistic ability in childhood may protect against Alzheimer’s • Which ordinary foods promote longevity and healthy brain function • Why preventing strokes and depression is key to avoiding Alzheimer’s • What role heredity plays, and why it’s never too late to start an exercise program • How attitude, faith, and community can add years to our lives A prescription for hope, Aging with Grace shows that old age doesn’t have to mean an inevitable slide into illness and disability; rather it can be a time of promise and productivity, intellectual and spiritual vigor—a time of true grace.