Chance, Development, and Aging

Caleb Ellicott Finch

ISBN 10: 0195133617 / ISBN 13: 9780195133615

Published by Oxford University Press, 2000

About this Item

Abnutzung / Risse - leicht; Vergilbt / ausgeblichen. In Chance, Development, and Aging , two leading biological gerontologists review and evaluate all of the available data to elucidate the respective roles played by genes and chance developmental events in determining the course of aging in individuals. The combination of genetic and externalenvironmental influences provides only an incomplete answer. Inbred laboratory animals, for example, exhibit a wide range of life spans despite having nearly identical genes and environments. Similarly, uncovering the genetic risks for Alzheimer's disease has not enabled doctors to predict withconfidence its onset and severity. This book argues that understanding chance events, specifically random variations during prenatal development, is essential for answering these questions. The book draws on the extensive research in developmental biology on random variations in form and function,while putting this research in a new context. The discussion sheds light on a range of questions, from understanding menopause to explaining why identical twins are not truly identical. The book will be invaluable for gerontologists, geneticists, developmental and reproductive biologists,physiologists, and a broad range of physicians and investigators in experimental medicine.

Seller Inventory # 3c8bb0e3-a4e1-48bf-9fc6-5d20f9c3854c

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Chance, Development, and Aging
• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0195133617
• ISBN 13: 9780195133615
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: Fine

About this title

Synopsis

In Chance, Development, and Aging, two leading biological gerontologists review and evaluate all of the available data to elucidate the respective roles played by genes and chance developmental events in determining the course of aging in individuals. The combination of genetic and external environmental influences provides only an incomplete answer. Inbred laboratory animals, for example, exhibit a wide range of life spans despite having nearly identical genes and environments. Similarly, uncovering the genetic risks for Alzheimer's disease has not enabled doctors to predict with confidence its onset and severity. This book argues that understanding chance events, specifically random variations during prenatal development, is essential for answering these questions. The book draws on the extensive research in developmental biology on random variations in form and function, while putting this research in a new context. The discussion sheds light on a range of questions, from understanding menopause to explaining why identical twins are not truly identical. The book will be invaluable for gerontologists, geneticists, developmental and reproductive biologists, physiologists, and a broad range of physicians and investigators in experimental medicine.

About the Author

Dr. Caleb E. Finch is ARCO and William Kieschnick Professor of Gerontology at the Andrus Gerontology Center, University of Southern California. Dr. Tom Kirkwood is a Professor at the University of Manchester and the Director of the Joint Center on Aging at the Universities of Manchester and Newcastle.