Descripciones mejoradas de Syndetics:

Preeminent cell biologist Leonard Hayflick reveals the results of more than thirty years of pioneering research in the field of aging. 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.

Tabla de contenidos provista por Syndetics

• Foreword(p. xiii)
• Preface(p. xvii)
• Acknowledgments(p. xxi)
• Introduction(p. 1)
• Part 1 What Is Aging?
• 1. Defining Aging(p. 11)
• Chronological versus Biological Age(p. 12)
• Longevity, Aging, and Death(p. 15)
• How Old Are You--Really?(p. 16)
• 2. Some Animals Age, Some Do Not(p. 19)
• Animals That Do Not Age(p. 21)
• Aging by Wear and Tear(p. 23)
• Animals That Regenerate(p. 24)
• "Big Bang" Reproduction and Aging(p. 24)
• How Long Do Animals Live?(p. 27)
• 3. Redwood Trees Are Not Old(p. 34)
• Aging and Cell Lineages(p. 35)
• Grafts and Aging(p. 36)
• Roots, Shoots, and Aging(p. 36)
• Programmed Aging(p. 37)
• The Longevity of Seeds(p. 39)
• 4. Aging Is Not a Disease(p. 43)
• Normal Age Changes(p. 44)
• Causes of Death(p. 45)
• Age-related Illnesses(p. 47)
• Population versus Individual Aging(p. 48)
• Part 2 Aging by the Numbers
• 5. The Demographic Facts of Life(p. 53)
• The Graying of America(p. 54)
• The Statistics Today(p. 57)
• The Statistics Tomorrow(p. 59)
• Some Geographical Facts(p. 59)
• 6. Actuarial Aging(p. 63)
• The Likelihood of Death(p. 64)
• Are We Living Longer?(p. 66)
• How Many Years Are Left?(p. 67)
• The Tables of Life(p. 68)
• Life Tables for Animals(p. 77)
• The Curves of Life(p. 77)
• Rectangularizing the Survival Curve(p. 83)
• Yes, We Are Living Longer(p. 84)
• 7. A Long and Healthy Life(p. 89)
• What Is Your Active Life Expectation?(p. 90)
• Extending Health and Compressing Illness(p. 92)
• Is Life Span Fixed Or Changing?(p. 93)
• Do Some Occupations Favor Longevity?(p. 94)
• What Will Happen When All Diseases Are Cured?(p. 96)
• Why Do Women Live Longer than Men?(p. 101)
• Is There a Weaker Sex?(p. 104)
• Accelerated Aging in Humans(p. 107)
• Why Are We Old at Age Sixty-five?(p. 108)
• Part 3 How Do We Age?
• 8. Aging under Glass(p. 111)
• Aging in a Bottle(p. 112)
• An Old Dogma Dies(p. 116)
• Transplanting Normal Cells(p. 124)
• Aging Adult Cells(p. 126)
• Accelerated Aging in a Bottle(p. 126)
• Carrel's Mistake(p. 127)
• Life in the Cold(p. 130)
• Cellular Memory(p. 130)
• A Practical Use(p. 131)
• Cell Aging and Cell Longevity(p. 132)
• The Latent Period(p. 136)
• 9. The Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging(p. 137)
• The BLSA(p. 139)
• Separating Facts from Myths(p. 142)
• Changes in Appearance(p. 143)
• Dental Changes(p. 143)
• Weight and Metabolic Changes(p. 143)
• Changes in the Cardiovascular System(p. 144)
• Changes in Reaction Time(p. 144)
• Cognitive Changes(p. 144)
• Personality Changes(p. 145)
• Changes in Sexual Activity(p. 145)
• Changes in the Senses(p. 146)
• Physiological Changes(p. 146)
• Changes in Strength(p. 147)
• Gender Differences in Aging(p. 147)
• General Conclusions from the BLSA(p. 148)
• 10. How We Change with Age(p. 150)
• The Cardiovascular System(p. 151)
• The Immune System(p. 153)
• The Endocrine System(p. 155)
• The Female Reproductive System(p. 157)
• The Male Reproductive System(p. 159)
• The Skeletal System(p. 160)
• The Nervous System(p. 161)
• The Brain(p. 161)
• 11. Aging from Head to Foot(p. 166)
• Height(p. 166)
• Weight(p. 167)
• Chest Size(p. 168)
• Arm Span(p. 168)
• Face(p. 168)
• Skull(p. 168)
• Skeleton(p. 169)
• Body Composition(p. 169)
• Body Water(p. 169)
• Skin(p. 170)
• Wrinkles
• Sweat Glands
• Temperature Control
• Healing Capacity
• Fingernails(p. 174)
• Hair(p. 175)
• Hearing(p. 176)
• Taste(p. 177)
• Smell(p. 178)
• Sight(p. 179)
• Sleep(p. 179)
• Nutrition(p. 181)
• Metabolism(p. 182)
• Capacity for Exercise(p. 184)
• Chronic Diseases(p. 185)
• Aging Has Its Compensations(p. 185)
• Part 4 Why Do We Age?
• 12. Centenarians and Supercentenarians(p. 189)
• Superlongevity throughout the Ages(p. 190)
• Luigi Cornaro and the Spartan Life
• Descartes and Bacon
• Early Blood Transfusions
• Superlongevous Individuals
• Modern Skepticism
• Are There Superlongevous People?(p. 196)
• What about Centenarians?(p. 202)
• The Increased Likelihood of Reaching Age One Hundred(p. 203)
• Some Statistical Characteristics of Centenarians(p. 206)
• 13. Determining Life Span(p. 208)
• How Life Span Relates to Brain Weight and Body Weight(p. 208)
• Body Temperature and Metabolic Rate(p. 212)
• Lengthening Life Spans(p. 213)
• Did Aging Evolve?(p. 215)
• The Importance of Redundancy(p. 216)
• 14. Theories of Aging Based on Purposeful Events(p. 222)
• Early Ideas about Aging(p. 223)
• The "Vital Substance" Theory
• The Genetic Mutation Theory
• The Reproductive Exhaustion Theory
• Why Modern Theories of Aging Are Still Speculative(p. 226)
• Rules of the Game(p. 228)
• Is Aging Accidental or Programmed?(p. 229)
• Aging by Design(p. 229)
• The Neuroendocrine Theory(p. 231)
• Down the Brain-cell Drain(p. 233)
• 15. Theories of Aging Based on Random Events(p. 236)
• The Wear and Tear Theory(p. 236)
• The Rate of Living Theory(p. 239)
• The Waste Product Accumulation Theory(p. 241)
• The Cross-linking Theory(p. 242)
• The Free Radical Theory(p. 244)
• The Immune System Theory(p. 248)
• Theories of Errors and Repairs(p. 250)
• The Order to Disorder Theory(p. 257)
• So Why Do We Age?(p. 258)
• A Personal View(p. 259)
• Part 5 Slowing Aging and Increasing Life Span
• 16. Early Attempts to Control Aging(p. 265)
• Should We Try to Cheat Death?(p. 265)
• Should We Try to Control Aging?(p. 267)
• Rejuvenating Substances(p. 269)
• Alchemy(p. 269)
• Cavorting(p. 271)
• Scrotum Hokum and Other Nonsense(p. 272)
• Cell Therapy(p. 274)
• Yogurt(p. 274)
• Sterilization(p. 275)
• Procaine(p. 276)
• 17. How Exercise, Nutrition, and Weight Affect Longevity(p. 277)
• The Effect of Exercise on Aging and Life Span(p. 278)
• The Longevity of College Athletes(p. 280)
• The Longevity of Baseball Players(p. 282)
• The Longevity of Old Athletes(p. 282)
• Is There an Antiaging Diet?(p. 283)
• How Does Caloric Restriction Work?(p. 287)
• Can Humans Increase Their Longevity by Caloric Restriction?(p. 289)
• Ideal Weight and Longevity(p. 292)
• 18. How Temperature, Light, Transfusions, and Suspended Animation Affect Longevity(p. 296)
• Temperature and Aging(p. 296)
• Suspended Animation(p. 298)
• Cryonics(p. 300)
• Aging in the Dark(p. 301)
• Can Transfusions Affect Longevity?(p. 302)
• 19. The Clocks That Time Us(p. 303)
• Our Perception of the Passage of Time(p. 304)
• Circadian Rhythm(p. 305)
• Where Is the Clock?(p. 307)
• Aging Clocks(p. 308)
• A Sure Way to Slow Aging(p. 308)
• An Easy Way to Increase Your Longevity(p. 310)
• Part 6 The Future of Human Aging and Longevity
• 20. Life Extension and Antiaging Therapies(p. 313)
• Antiaging Therapies and Profits(p. 314)
• How Do We Test What Cannot Be Measured?(p. 315)
• What Would Happen if We Learned How to Manipulate Longevity?(p. 315)
• At What Age Are We Most Productive?(p. 316)
• 21. Aging and Longevity in the Twenty-first Century(p. 318)
• The Effect of Genetics on Future Longevity(p. 319)
• The Effect of Nurture on Future Longevity(p. 321)
• Twenty-first-Century Demographics(p. 322)
• Our Future Selves(p. 325)
• Living the Rectangular Life(p. 330)
• Can We Extend Our Life Span?(p. 331)
• Research on Longevity and Aging Today(p. 332)
• What Should Our Goals Be?(p. 334)
• No More Aging: Blessing or Nightmare?(p. 336)
• Immortality(p. 338)
• The Population Bomb(p. 339)
• How to Increase Life Expectation(p. 341)
• Further Reading(p. 343)
• Index(p. 361)

Reseñas proporcionadas por Syndetics

Library Journal Review

Hayflick (anatomy, Univ. of California Medical Sch.), a nationally recognized gerontologist with over 30 years' experience in the study of the aging process, presents a cogent response to the question of how and why we age. He not only explores the biological process of aging but also covers such topics as chronological vs. biological aging; longevity, aging, and death; normal aging vs. the myths of aging; demographics; how the human body's systems are affected by aging; theories on aging; attempts to control aging; effects of exercise, nutrition, weight, temperature, and light on longevity; and aging and longevity into the 21st century. The chapters are packed with easily digestible facts, observations, and scientific documentation. To support his statements, he uses reliable data from tested research and reputable statistical sources. This 400-page book should function as a primary resource for gerontologists, health professionals, informed lay readers, and higher education students interested in the process of aging.-Kathy Segrist, Temple Univ., Philadelphia (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Anatomist Hayflick has researched and lectured on the biology of aging for 30 years--experience made evident throughout this book by his broad factual coverage, lucidity, and occasional humor. Hayflick is as interested in exploding myths as he is in pointing out what is scientifically known and what still needs to be done. By discussing the last, he hopes to encourage young people to enter his broad and growing field, in which the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging is the major pertinent program. The primary division in knowledge about aging arises from discriminating between the effects of aging per se and those of disease. Some researchers, Hayflick shows, confound this separation by referring to "abnormal aging," which does not exist. Biogerontologists must keep in mind the wide individual variability in aging, Hayflick says, commenting that if "you think cancer is complicated, try to understand the aging process." A useful, well-informed treatment. ~--William Beatty