The Aging Gap Between Species - E-book - ePub

Aging is a puzzle to solve. This process is traditionally studied in a couple of biological models like fruit flies, worms and mice. What all these species have in common is their fast aging. This is excellent for lab budgets. It is a great short-term strategy. Who has time to study species that live for decades? But lifespan differences among species are orders of magnitude larger than any lifespan variation achieved in the lab.
This is the reason for which I studied countless information resources in an attempt to gather highly specialized research into one easy-to-follow book. I wanted to see the forest among the trees. I wanted to expose the aging gap between species in an easy-to-follow and logical sequence. This book is my attempt at doing just that. What are the mechanisms underlying the aging gap between species? I intentionally chose to write the answer to this question in plain English.
Aging research is too important to hide it behind the closed doors of formal scientific jargon. This book could not have existed if green tea, libraries and the Internet were not invented. The amount of data I had to browse in order to keep the essential patterns is huge. Yet this book is not exhaustive. This is not a dry academic textbook. I tried to instill life in a topic that is hugely important for the extension of human lifespan.
Only you can decide if I achieved this. Contents      Finding the Forest Among the TreesBeing Reliable CountsThe Mathematics of AgingThe Speed of SenescenceCase Study: Aging in FishHow to Estimate Chronological AgeTaking Life SlowlyOn Temperature and AgingDormancyThe Housekeeping ProblemCase Study: Aging in TurtlesIntracellular JunkCase Study: Aging in CrustaceansExtracellular JunkCase Study: Protein Quality ControlThe Sweet PoisonAre Cell Membranes the Pacemakers of Metabolism?Could Reproduction Set up the Pacemaker of Senescence?The Segregation of Somatic and Germ CellsClonal Senescence Versus Mechanical SenescenceSame Species, Different LifespansCase Study: Eusocial SpeciesCase Study: Parasite/Free-Living PopulationsCase Study: Island Versus Inland PopulationsHormones as Pacemakers of SenescenceCase Study: Low Hormone Levels in Long-lived RodentsIs Aging a Form of Dehydration?The Immune Pacemaker of SenescenceInnate Versus Adaptive ImmunitySenescent CellsCase Study: Thymic Involution in Negligible Senescence SpeciesReverse Engineering the BodyCase Study: Why Are Sponges Potentially Immortal?Modular Growth and AgingCase Study: Youth Is Forever Gone.
Unless You Are a Hydra. Or an Immortal JellyfishDown The Neoteny LaneCase Study: Neoteny in AmphibiansCase Study: Neoteny in MammalsIt's All About NeotenyDoes Aging Start When Growth Stops?Case Study: Indeterminate Growth in CrustaceansThe Rate of GrowthCase Study: Aging in BivalvesIs Telomerase The New Fountain of Youth?Case Study: Same Species, Different Telomerase ExpressionTelomerase Gene TherapyCase Study: Sea UrchinsPerennial Plants and Their Regenerating RootsCase Study: The Bristlecone PineUnitary Versus Colonial OrganismsCancerThe Paradox of PetoCase Study: Cancer in Long-Lived SpeciesThe EndAcknowledgmentsBibliography