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Understanding the odd science of aging

Lookup NU author(s): Emeritus Professor Thomas Kirkwood

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Abstract

Evolutionary considerations suggest aging is caused not by active gene programming but by evolved limitations in somatic maintenance, resulting in a build-up of damage. Ecological factors such as hazard rates and food availability influence the trade-offs between investing in growth, reproduction, and somatic survival, explaining why species evolved different life spans and why aging rate can sometimes be altered, for example, by dietary restriction. To understand the cell and molecular basis of aging is to unravel the multiplicity of mechanisms causing damage to accumulate and the complex array of systems working to keep damage at bay.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Kirkwood TBL

Publication type: Review

Publication status: Published

Journal: Cell

Year: 2005

Volume: 120

Issue: 4

Pages: 437-447

ISSN (print): 0092-8674

ISSN (electronic): 1097-4172

URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cell.2005.01.027

DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2005.01.027

PubMed id: 15734677

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