Understanding
the biological basis of aging has fascinated people throughout recorded
history, and is one of the great remaining scientific questions. The question has
never been more important than now, as we anticipate the impact that a rapidly
growing older population will have on the social, political, and medical landscape
over the next 50 years. There is increasing evidence that aging involves damage
to the genome, and it is certainly the case that such damage explains much of
the coupling of most cancers to aging. This volume brings together expert
reviews on issues related to the role of chromosomal instability in the
modulation of life span and health span.
The primary aim
of this book is to provide the scientific community with a current treatise on
the cellular and molecular bases of aging and chromosomal instability in human
diseases and model organisms. We intend this book for students, scientists, and
physicians interested in the biology of aging and human genetics, and for those
studying genomic instability in the fields of biochemistry, genetics,
therapeutic radiology, oncology, and pathology. The realization that aging could
be studied by using the methods of modern molecular biology and genetics has
led to an explosion of knowledge in the field. Indeed, one of the difficulties of
beginning a career in aging research has been how widely scattered the information
is, with relevant publications appearing in numerous and diverse scientific journals.
In this sense, the biology of aging is a “supraspecialty” encompassing many
other fields, rather than a narrow subspecialty. This text will provide readers
with a background for understanding a wide range of the most important work,
and a context for future discoveries.
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