A Means to an End: The Biological Basis of Aging and Death - Hardcover

Clark, William R.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0195125932 ISBN 13: 9780195125931

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 1999

Synopsis

Why do we age? Is aging inevitable? Will advances in medical knowledge allow us to extend the human lifespan beyond its present limits? Because growing old has long been the one irreducible reality of human existence, these intriguing questions arise more often in the context of science fiction than science fact. But recent discoveries in the fields of cell biology and molecular genetics are seriously challenging the assumption that human lifespans are beyond our control.
With such discoveries in mind, noted cell biologist William R. Clark clearly and skillfully describes how senescence begins at the level of individual cells and how cellular replication may be bound up with aging of the entire organism. He explores the evolutionary origin and function of aging, the cellular connections between aging and cancer, the parallels between cellular senescence and Alzheimer's disease, and the insights gained through studying human genetic disorders--such as Werner's syndrome--that mimic the symptoms of aging. Clark also explains how reduction in caloric intake may actually help increase lifespan, and how the destructive effects of oxidative elements in the body may be limited by the consumption of antioxidants found in fruits and vegetables. In a final chapter, Clark considers the social and economic aspects of living longer, the implications of gene therapy on senescence, and what we might learn about aging from experiments in cloning.
This is a highly readable, provocative account of some of the most far-reaching and controversial questions we are likely to ask in the next century.

About this title

About the Author

Professor Emeritus of Immunology at UCLA and an internationally recognized authority on cellular immune reactions, William R. Clark is the author of The New Healers: Molecular Medicine in the Twenty-First Century, Sex and the Origins of Death, and At War Within: The Double Edged Sword of Immunity, all published by OUP.

Reviews

A professor emeritus of immunology at UCLA, Clark here examines "the process of aging from a new and increasingly important perspective, that of cell and molecular biology and the underlying discipline of genetics." When addressing each of these biological subfields, Clark effortlessly takes readers from the simple to the complex, from a discussion of single-celled organisms to human beings. Along the way, he summarizes the latest scientific information while outlining prospects for future research. Although this is a scholarly book, not a how-to manual, Clark does discuss strategies for extending the average human life by caloric restriction (reductions of 20% to 25% seem to be required) and the use of antioxidants (natural forms found in fruits and vegetables appear to be much more effective than supplements). He also does a nice job of exploring the causes of Alzheimer's disease, various forms of cancer and an array of genetic disorders that afflict the young by making them age prematurely. Finally, in this neatly informative work, Clark uses a sociological and political perspective to probe the tensions likely to arise between length of life and quality of life as medical advances continue to accumulate, and to consider the broad ramifications inherent in an aging population. 21 linecuts.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

A virtual textbook on what the growing knowledge of biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology is revealing about the basic mechanisms of aging. Clark, professor emeritus of immunology at Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles, whose previous work, The New Healers: Molecular Medicine in the Twenty-First Century (1997), seriously challenged readers not trained in these sciences, has returned to the classroom for yet another dense lecture, complete with graphs, tables, and diagrams. With technical expertise, he describes in detail how the process of aging, or senescence, takes place at the level of individual cells and what is known about the internal regulation of that process by our genes. He relates how research into various genetic disorders that mimic the human aging process, such as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria and Werner's syndrome, is providing clues to the involvement of genes in the aging process; and he dismisses claims that rejuvenation or immortality can be achieved through the manipulation of telomeres, those segments of DNA at the tip ends of chromosomes that have been called the cell's internal timekeepers. The effects of caloric restriction on lifespan are considered, as is the role of antioxidants in reducing the risk of deadly cancers and cardiovascular disease. What is clear from Clark's text is that more is known about how and why we age than has ever been known before, and that with the coming completion of the Human Genome Project, knowledge of the genes involved in aging will greatly expand. In his final chapter, which is the book's least technical and most thought-provoking, Clark considers briefly what the impact on society will be as that knowledge is applied and leads to a longer, healthier average human lifespan. A scientist's careful, unsensational account of the current status of research into aging that requires from the reader a level of commitment well beyond mere curiosity. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

As in his previous books, Clark (immunology, emeritus, UCLA; The New Healers: Molecular Medicine in the Twenty-First Century, LJ 12/97) does not hesitate to introduce the lay reader to complex concepts in cell and molecular biology. The news media and popular magazines tend to overestimate the impact of aging research on humans, but Clark looks at things realistically, especially the effects of reduced caloric intake and antioxidants at the cellular level. Clark concludes his book with an interesting discussion of the economic and social impact a longer lifespan might have on humans. Clark's is less anecdotal than some of the other aging books on the market: Steve Austad's Why We Age (Wiley, 1997), Leonard Hayflick and Robert Butler's How and Why We Age (Ballantine, 1994), and John J. Medina's The Clock of Ages (LJ 3/15/96). He sticks to the scientific research and refers to articles published in top-ranked, peer-reviewed scientific publications in his bibliography. Recommended for larger public libraries.AMargaret Henderson, Huntington, NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 1999
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195125932
• ISBN 13: 9780195125931
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 256