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 Inc, 1999

Synopsis

This work covers ageing from a fundamental cell biological perspective. The evolution and developmental genetics of senescence are explained clearly. All the various theories of ageing - the Hayflick limit and telomeric shortening as a possible biological clock, the impacts of somatic mutations, oxidative stress, accumulation of waste materials in cells with age - are explained and critically assessed. The author presents vivid case accounts about disorders that open windows on to the ageing process. The impacts of ageing on the brain and nervous system are given special attention, as are the effects of caloric restriction on maximum lifespan.

About this title

Review:

"Clark effortlessly takes readers from the simple to the complex, from a discussion of single-celled organisms to human beings.... 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.... Neatly informative."―Publishers Weekly

"Why in spite of healthy, well-fed, well-watered lives do people age and die? The well-informed physician-researcher, William R. Clark, excitedly reveals new studies of progeric and normal mammals as he tracks the inevitable corollary to human life: the inexorable rhythmic march to human death."―Lynn Margulis, Distinguished University Professor, Department of Geosciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst and co-author of What is Life" and What is Sex"

"Fascinating and informative.... One of the book's most engaging elements is Clark's ability to show how scientists think about problems and approaches in the field."―Booklist

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.

About this edition

• Publisher: Oxford University Press Inc
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 0195125932
• ISBN 13: 9780195125931
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 251