Cracking the Aging Code: The New Science of Growing Old - And What It Means for Staying Young

Josh Mitteldorf

ISBN 10: 1250061709 / ISBN 13: 9781250061706

Published by Flatiron Books, 2016

About this Item

A revolutionary examination of why we age, what it means for our health, and how we just might be able to fight it. In>Cracking the Aging Code, theoretical biologist Josh Mitteldorf and award-winning writer and ecological philosopher Dorion Sagan reveal that evolution and aging are even more complex and breathtaking than we originally thought. Using meticulous multidisciplinary science, as well as reviewing the history of our understanding about evolution, this book makes the case that aging is not something that just happens, nor is it the result of wear and tear or a genetic inevitability. Rather, aging has a fascinating evolutionary purpose: to stabilize populations and ecosystems, which are ever-threatened by cyclic swings that can lead to extinction. When a population grows too fast it can put itself at risk of a wholesale wipeout. Aging has evolved to help us adjust our growth in a sustainable fashion as well as prevent an ecological crisis from starvation, predation, pollution, or infection. This dynamic new understanding of aging is provocative, entertaining, and pioneering, and will challenge the way we understand aging, death, and just what makes us human.

Seller Inventory # CIN1250061709A

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Cracking the Aging Code: The New Science of Growing Old - And What It Means for Staying Young
• Publisher: Flatiron Books
• Publication Date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1250061709
• ISBN 13: 9781250061706
• Binding: Hardback
• Condition: Fair

About this title

Synopsis

A revolutionary examination of why we age, what it means for our health, and how we just might be able to fight it.

In Cracking the Aging Code, theoretical biologist Josh Mitteldorf and award-winning writer and ecological philosopher Dorion Sagan reveal that evolution and aging are even more complex and breathtaking than we originally thought. Using meticulous multidisciplinary science, as well as reviewing the history of our understanding about evolution, this book makes the case that aging is not something that “just happens,” nor is it the result of wear and tear or a genetic inevitability. Rather, aging has a fascinating evolutionary purpose: to stabilize populations and ecosystems, which are ever-threatened by cyclic swings that can lead to extinction.

When a population grows too fast it can put itself at risk of a wholesale wipeout. Aging has evolved to help us adjust our growth in a sustainable fashion as well as prevent an ecological crisis from starvation, predation, pollution, or infection.

This dynamic new understanding of aging is provocative, entertaining, and pioneering, and will challenge the way we understand aging, death, and just what makes us human.

About the Authors

Theoretical-biologist Josh Mitteldorf has a PhD from UPenn. He runs the website AgingAdvice.org, and writes a weekly column for ScienceBlog.com. Mitteldorf has had visiting research and teaching positions at various universities including MIT, Harvard, and Berkeley.

DORION SAGAN is a celebrated writer, ecological philosopher, and author or coauthor of several books, many of which have been translated into over a dozen languages, including Into the Cool, Up from Dragons, and Microcosmos. His work has appeared in Natural History, Smithsonian, Wired, and The New York Times, among other publications.