Between Zeus and the Salmon

Between Zeus and the Salmon PDF Author: Caleb E. Finch
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 304

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Book Description
Demographers and public health specialists have been surprised by the rapid increases in life expectancy, especially at the oldest ages, that have occurred since the early 1960s. Some scientists are calling into question the idea of a fixed upper limit for the human life span. There is new evidence about the genetic bases for both humans and other species. There are also new theories and models of the role of mutations accumulating over the life span and the possible evolutionary advantages of survival after the reproductive years. This volume deals with such diverse topics as the role of the elderly in other species and among human societies past and present, the contribution of evolutionary theory to our understanding of human longevity and intergenerational transfers, mathematical models for survival, and the potential for collecting genetic material in household surveys. It will be particularly valuable for promoting communication between the social and life sciences.

Between Zeus and the Salmon

Between Zeus and the Salmon PDF Author: Caleb E. Finch
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 304

Get Book Here

Book Description
Demographers and public health specialists have been surprised by the rapid increases in life expectancy, especially at the oldest ages, that have occurred since the early 1960s. Some scientists are calling into question the idea of a fixed upper limit for the human life span. There is new evidence about the genetic bases for both humans and other species. There are also new theories and models of the role of mutations accumulating over the life span and the possible evolutionary advantages of survival after the reproductive years. This volume deals with such diverse topics as the role of the elderly in other species and among human societies past and present, the contribution of evolutionary theory to our understanding of human longevity and intergenerational transfers, mathematical models for survival, and the potential for collecting genetic material in household surveys. It will be particularly valuable for promoting communication between the social and life sciences.

Evolution of Longevity in Animals

Evolution of Longevity in Animals PDF Author: Avril Woodhead
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 1461319390
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 352

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Book Description
The analysis of intra-group correlations between LS and BW at representative intervals yields no consistent support for the hypothesis that lower BW is associated with longer LS. Indeed, among male Wistar rats and C57BL/6J and A/J mice followed since weaning on AL diets, the data suggested that relatively higher BW across the adult LS was generally associated with longer life. Even when the diet was restricted by EOD or RES regimens, this pattern of positive correlations between LS and BW persisted for the C57BL/6J and A/J strains when relative ages were analyzed. However, when BW at absolute ages were correlated with LS, support for the positive relationship between BW and LS was not as forthcoming. When AL groups were assessed beginning at later ages (> 10 months), the pattern of positive correlations was very evident for the Wistar rats--heavier rats tended to liver longer. This pattern was also evident among AL-fed C57BL/6J mice followed since 6 months, but was lost in the 10-month group in this strain. Among A/J mice on AL diets, the pattern became somewhat negative when followed at 6 and 10 months of age. However, among both C57BL/6J and A/J mice placed on EOD diets at 6 and 10 months of age, the pattern clearly tended toward the positive.

How and why We Age

How and why We Age PDF Author: Leonard Hayflick
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780345401557
Category : Aging
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
"How long can humans live? Is immortality possible? Just what is the aging process? The aging and inevitable death of the human body have inspired more myths and outrageous quackery than anything else subject to scientific inquiry. . . . Now comes a most fascinating book, insightful and scholarly, to provide what answers have emerged so far." --San Francisco Chronicle Here, at last, preeminent cell biologist Leonard Hayflick presents the truth about human aging. Based on more than thirty years of pioneering research in the field, How and Why We Age explores not only how our major biological systems change as we grow older, but also examines the intangible alterations in our modes of thinking and feeling, our moods and sexual desires, our personality traits and our memories. With the immediacy of the latest scientific discoveries, Dr. Hayflick explains how aging affects every part of the body, and dispels many of the most persistent aging myths, to show that: * Hearts do not naturally get weaker with age. * Regular exercise and a low-fat diet won't slow aging. * Curing cancer would only add two years to the average sixty-five-year-old American life. Curing heart disease, however would add fourteen years. * Only five percent of people over the age of sixty-five are in nursing homes * No human has lived--or probably can live--past 120 years. Gracefully written, clearly organized, and packed with essential facts and statistics, How and Why We Age is a landmark study of the aging process for readers of all ages. "Written in clear, nontechnical language, it is an excellent introduction to the scientific and demographic literature on this multifacetedsubject." --Nature

Eat Like the Animals

Eat Like the Animals PDF Author: David Raubenheimer
Publisher: Harvest
ISBN: 1328587851
Category : Health & Fitness
Languages : en
Pages : 261

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Book Description
Our evolutionary ancestors once possessed the ability to intuit what food their bodies needed, in what proportions, and ate the right things in the proper amounts--effortlessly balanced. When and why did we lose this ability, and how can we get it back? David Raubenheimer and Stephen Simpson answer these questions in a compelling narrative, based upon five "eureka" moments they experienced in the course of their groundbreaking research. The book shares their colorful scientific journey--from the foothills of Cape Town, to the deserts of Australia--culminating in a unifying theory of nutrition that has profound implications for our current epidemic of metabolic diseases and obesity. The authors ultimately offer useful prescriptions to understand the unwanted side effects of fad diets, gain control over one's food environment, and see that delicious and healthy are integral parts of proper eating.

Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research

Use of Laboratory Animals in Biomedical and Behavioral Research PDF Author: National Research Council
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309038391
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 113

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Book Description
Scientific experiments using animals have contributed significantly to the improvement of human health. Animal experiments were crucial to the conquest of polio, for example, and they will undoubtedly be one of the keystones in AIDS research. However, some persons believe that the cost to the animals is often high. Authored by a committee of experts from various fields, this book discusses the benefits that have resulted from animal research, the scope of animal research today, the concerns of advocates of animal welfare, and the prospects for finding alternatives to animal use. The authors conclude with specific recommendations for more consistent government action.

The Evolution of Senescence in the Tree of Life

The Evolution of Senescence in the Tree of Life PDF Author: Richard P. Shefferson
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1108138608
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 445

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Book Description
The existing theories on the evolution of senescence assume that senescence is inevitable in all organisms. However, recent studies have shown that this is not necessarily true. A better understanding of senescence and its underlying mechanisms could have far-reaching consequences for conservation and eco-evolutionary research. This book is the first to offer interdisciplinary perspectives on the evolution of senescence in many species, setting the stage for further developments. It brings together new insights from a wide range of scientific fields and cutting-edge research done on a multitude of different animals (including humans), plants and microbes, giving the reader a complete overview of recent developments and of the controversies currently surrounding the topic. Written by specialists from a variety of disciplines, this book is a valuable source of information for students and researchers interested in ageing and life history traits and populations.

Comparative Biology of Aging

Comparative Biology of Aging PDF Author: Norman S. Wolf
Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media
ISBN: 904813465X
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 397

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Book Description
determined by an inability to move in response to touch. C. elegans develop through four larval stages following hatching and prior to adulthood. Adult C. elegans are reproductive for about the rst week of adulthood followed by approximately two weeks of post-reproductive adulthood prior to death. Life span is most commonly measured in the laboratory by maintaining the worms on the surface of a nutrie- agar medium (Nematode Growth Medium, NGM) with E. coli OP50 as the bacterial food source (REF). Alternative culture conditions have been described in liquid media; however, these are not widely used for longevity studies. Longevity of the commonly used wild type C. elegans hermaphrodite (N2) varies ? from 16 to 23 days under standard laboratory conditions (20 C, NGM agar, E. coli OP50 food source). Life span can be increased by maintaining animals at lower ambient temperatures and shortened by raising the ambient temperature. Use of a killed bacterial food source, rather than live E. coli, increases lifespan by 2–4 days, and growth of adult animals in the absence of bacteria (axenic growth or bac- rial deprivation) increases median life span to 32–38 days [3, 23, 24]. Under both standard laboratory conditions and bacterial deprivation conditions, wild-derived C. elegans hermaphrodites exhibit longevity comparable to N2 animals [25].

Reproductive Skew in Vertebrates

Reproductive Skew in Vertebrates PDF Author: Reinmar Hager
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 0521864097
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 547

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Book Description
Skew theory investigates the genetic and ecological factors causal to the partitioning of reproduction in animal groups and may yield fundamental insights into the evolution of animal sociality. This book brings together new theory and empirical work, mostly in vertebrates, to test assumptions and predictions of skew models.

Longevity Records

Longevity Records PDF Author: James R. Carey
Publisher: University Press of Southern Denmark
ISBN:
Category : Nature
Languages : en
Pages : 254

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Book Description
This book is the world's largest compendium of documented life spans in vertebrates. Record life spans for over 3000 species of mammals, birds, amphibians, reptiles, and fish indicate wild or captive status and sex (where available), and are linked to source references. A brief introduction addresses the concept of life span, summarizes methods for date gathering, criteria for inclusion, and provides a graphic summarization of within and among group variation in record life spans. The date is organized in four main tables: mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, and fish. The book is useful in demography, fisheries and wildlife biology, ecology, population and evolutionary biology, and gerontology.

How Men Age

How Men Age PDF Author: Richard G. Bribiescas
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691180911
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 192

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Book Description
A groundbreaking book that examines all aspects of male aging through an evolutionary lens While the health of aging men has been a focus of biomedical research for years, evolutionary biology has not been part of the conversation—until now. How Men Age is the first book to explore how natural selection has shaped male aging, how evolutionary theory can inform our understanding of male health and well-being, and how older men may have contributed to the evolution of some of the very traits that make us human. In this informative and entertaining book, renowned biological anthropologist Richard Bribiescas looks at all aspects of male aging through an evolutionary lens. He describes how the challenges males faced in their evolutionary past influenced how they age today, and shows how this unique evolutionary history helps explain common aspects of male aging such as prostate disease, loss of muscle mass, changes in testosterone levels, increases in fat, erectile dysfunction, baldness, and shorter life spans than women. Bribiescas reveals how many of the physical and behavioral changes that we negatively associate with male aging may have actually facilitated the emergence of positive traits that have helped make humans so successful as a species, including parenting, long life spans, and high fertility. Popular science at its most compelling, How Men Age provides new perspectives on the aging process in men and how we became human, and also explores future challenges for human evolution—and the important role older men might play in them.