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Darwinian theory holds that a successful life is measured in terms of reproduction. Bringing together work in anthropology, psychology, ethnography and the social sciences, this study explores the evolutionary purpose and possibilities of female post-generative life.
Aging inspired a large number of theories trying to rationalize the aging process common to all living beings. In this publication the most important environmental and intrinsic mechanisms involved in the aging process and in its pathological consequences are reviewed. Furthermore theoretical and experimental evidence of the most important theoretical elements based on Darwinian evolution, cellular aging, role of cell membranes, free radicals and oxidative processes, receptor-mediated reactions, the extracellular matrix and immune functions as well as the most important environmental and intrinsic mechanisms involved in the aging process and in its pathological consequences are discussed. These presentations of theories and related experimental facts give a global overview of up to date concepts of the biology of the aging process and are of essential reading not only for specialists in this field but also for practitioners of scientific, medical, social and experimental sciences.
Aging is a natural phenomenon that is peculiar to all living things. However, accumulating findings indicate that senescence could be postponed or prevented by certain approaches. Substantial evidence has emerged supporting the possibility of radical human health and lifespan extension, in particular through pharmacological modulation of aging. A number of natural dietary ingredients and synthetic drugs have been assumed to have geroprotective potential. In the development of anti-aging therapeutics, several cell, insect, and animal models may provide useful starting points prior to human studies. This book provides an overview of current research aimed to search for life-extending medicatio...
This edited volume aims to better understand the multifaceted phenomenon we call health. Going beyond simple views of health as the absence of disease or as complete well-being, this book unites scientists and philosophers. The contributions clarify the links between health and adaptation, robustness, resilience, or dynamic homeostasis, and discuss how to achieve health and healthy aging through practices such as hormesis. The book is divided into three parts and a conclusion: the first part explains health from within specific disciplines, the second part explores health from the perspective of a bodily part, system, function, or even the environment in which organisms live, and the final p...
In this volume, the assumption that origins can be defined as a hermeneutic paradigm in the humanities and in the sciences is explored in relation to specific theoretical frameworks and research methodologies. By investigating how origins have been conceptualised in different domains of knowledge - biology, primatology, psychology, linguistics, history of science, critical theory, classical studies, philology, literary criticism, strategy and accounting - a double movement has been generated: towards the very core of each discipline and beyond disciplinary boundaries. Which are the most productive theories and methods each discipline has elaborated for investigating origins? Can they become trans-disciplinary? Which synergic enquiries can be devised in order to expand and share knowledge? Explaining how and why various disciplines have responded to such questions involves delving into their histories and cultural ideologies in order to verify whether the topic of origins can function as a powerful connector between scientific and humanistic territories.
This book looks at aging through research on Drosophila, the fruit fly that is one of the most widely used model organisms in bio gerontology. Work in model organisms can expand the theoretical knowledge of aging: it yields valuable insight into the molecular and cellular processes that underlie aging process, and it can perhaps provide new therapeutic targets for the treatment of age-related disorders in humans. Drosophila models have been developed for a large variety of aging-related processes and diseases, and this book provides readers with an overview of current research on the use of the Drosophila model to understand the genetic, molecular and physiological mechanisms that underlie the aging process. Themes of health span, life extension and longevity-associated genes emerge in this collation of international research on Drosophila that is of relevance to geriatrics and gerontology, animal genetics and genomics, and biomedicine. This fascinating, illustrated book will be of interest to a wide audience, ranging from academic researchers to the general reader.
Many books on ageing attempt to cover the whole field of gerontology. However, since gerontology is now such a diversified and rapidly expanding subject, the results of such attempts tend to be either incomprehensible compendia or encyc10pedias of disheartening size. The present book aims to be both more modest and more ambitious. It focuses on a single object (Drosophila), but attempts to off er a synthesis of all the gerontological work that has been done on it. It also aims to show the extent to which this work has led to an understanding of the biological phenomena of ageing, longevity, senescence and death in higher organisms, inc1uding man. Finally it attempts, on the basis of current knowledge, to mark out the paths that the next generation of researchers will most probably follow. Drosophila has been used as a model organism to advance our basic knowledge of the fundamentals of genetics and gerontology. It may be noted that the pioneering work on the genetics of ageing, which used Drosophila, began very early in this century, within the first decade of the rediscovery of Mendel's laws.
This edited volume focuses on the interplay between sleep and circadian rhythms with health, aging and longevity. Sleep is absolutely important for human health and survival, as insufficient sleep is associated with a plethora of conditions, including the poor quality of life, onset of several diseases, and premature death. The sleep–wake cycle is an evolutionary conserved neurobiological phenomenon, and is a prominent manifestation of the biological clocks localised in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Understanding bidirectional relationship between sleep and circadian rhythms is of utmost importance and urgency, especially in the context of modern lifestyle where sleep is often out of ...