Molecular Gerontology

Rattan, Suresh

doi:10.1016/b978-0-12-410527-0.00002-8

Omega-3 Fatty Acids in Brain and Neurological Health 2014

DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-410527-0.00002-8

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Molecular Gerontology

Suresh Rattan¹

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Cited by 2 publications

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Human ageing, longevity and evolution: can ageing be programmed?

Chmielewski

2019

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Understanding the proximate and ultimate causes of ageing is one of the key challenges in current biology and medicine. These problems are so important that they are sometimes referred to as the Holy Grail of biology and the Great Conundrum in biogerontology. From an evolutionary perspective, ageing is due to a failure of selection that is caused either by declining strength of selection after the onset of sexual reproduction (Medawar’s theory and Charlesworth’s model) or pleiotropic constraints (Williams’ theory). According to the disposable soma theory, which was proposed by Kirkwood and Holliday, ageing is driven by the accumulation of damage during life and failures of defensive and repair mechanisms as the more an animal expends on sexual reproduction, the less it can expend on bodily maintenance, and vice versa. Although these standard models rule out the possibility that ageing is programmed, there is no consensus about the nature of ageing within the life history in current biogerontology. Interestingly, empirical studies show that there are molecular instructions for ageing and evolutionarily conserved mechanisms for ageing, which seems inconsistent with the idea that ageing is a matter of neglect or a consequence of a failure of selection due to pleiotropic constraints. Here, selected arguments for programmed (i.e. either determined and adaptive or prearranged but non-adaptive) and non-programmed ageing are discussed. Recent advances in biogerontology that cast new light on these problems are outlined here in the context of the idea that the pace of ageing can act as an adaptation in nature, even though ageing is non-programmed and non-adaptive.

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Human ageing, longevity and evolution: can ageing be programmed?

Chmielewski

2019

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The dynamic nature of ageing: novel findings, therapeutic avenues and medical interventions

Chmielewski

2020

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Ageing is one of the most complex and difficult problems for humans to face and for science to solve. Although human senescence was viewed as a passive and uncontrollable process of deterioration over time with little or no genetic regulation, the concept that ageing is caused by both genetic and environmental factors is now generally accepted, even though it remains difficult to distinguish between ageing sensu stricto and the effects of age-related diseases. Empirical data show that mechanisms of ageing are highly conserved during evolution. Moreover, it has been established that there are specific molecular ‘instructions’ for ageing, which suggests that a better understanding of the molecular biology of ageing will open new possibilities regarding future interventions. The complexity of ageing diminishes the possibility that any general theory will completely explain this metaphenomenon. Likewise, it is highly unlikely that any medication can stop or reverse human senescence. Nevertheless, ageing as a dynamic and malleable metaphenomenon can be modulated by a variety of influences. The concept of the shrinkage of the homeo-dynamic space with age, i.e. homeostenosis, is especially interesting and intriguing as it shows that novel therapeutic approaches and rational strategies can help delay the onset of the ageing-associated pathologies by enhancing the homeodynamic capabilities of the body. The aim of this article is to present current data from evolutionary and molecular gerontology and discuss them within the ambit of this review which is devoted to the dynamic, emergent and plastic nature of human ageing and implications for future interventions.

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Molecular Gerontology

Cited by 2 publications

References 76 publications

Human ageing, longevity and evolution: can ageing be programmed?

Human ageing, longevity and evolution: can ageing be programmed?

The dynamic nature of ageing: novel findings, therapeutic avenues and medical interventions

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