The Biology of Human Longevity


Book Description

Written by Caleb Finch, one of the leading scientists of our time, The Biology of Human Longevity: Inflammation, Nutrition, and Aging in the Evolution of Lifespans synthesizes several decades of top research on the topic of human aging and longevity particularly on the recent theories of inflammation and its effects on human health. The book expands a number of existing major theories, including the Barker theory of fetal origins of adult disease to consider the role of inflammation and Harmon's free radical theory of aging to include inflammatory damage. Future increases in lifespan are challenged by the obesity epidemic and spreading global infections which may reverse the gains made in lowering inflammatory exposure. This timely and topical book will be of interest to anyone studying aging from any scientific angle. - Author Caleb Finch is a highly influential and respected scientist, ranked in the top half of the 1% most cited scientists - Provides a novel synthesis of existing ideas about the biology of longevity and aging - Incorporates important research findings from several disciplines, including Gerontology, Genomics, Neuroscience, Immunology, Nutrition




Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries


Book Description

During the last 25 years, life expectancy at age 50 in the United States has been rising, but at a slower pace than in many other high-income countries, such as Japan and Australia. This difference is particularly notable given that the United States spends more on health care than any other nation. Concerned about this divergence, the National Institute on Aging asked the National Research Council to examine evidence on its possible causes. According to Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries, the nation's history of heavy smoking is a major reason why lifespans in the United States fall short of those in many other high-income nations. Evidence suggests that current obesity levels play a substantial part as well. The book reports that lack of universal access to health care in the U.S. also has increased mortality and reduced life expectancy, though this is a less significant factor for those over age 65 because of Medicare access. For the main causes of death at older ages-cancer and cardiovascular disease-available indicators do not suggest that the U.S. health care system is failing to prevent deaths that would be averted elsewhere. In fact, cancer detection and survival appear to be better in the U.S. than in most other high-income nations, and survival rates following a heart attack also are favorable. Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries identifies many gaps in research. For instance, while lung cancer deaths are a reliable marker of the damage from smoking, no clear-cut marker exists for obesity, physical inactivity, social integration, or other risks considered in this book. Moreover, evaluation of these risk factors is based on observational studies, which-unlike randomized controlled trials-are subject to many biases.




International Handbook of Population Aging


Book Description

The International Handbook of Population Aging examines research on a wide array of the profound implications of population aging. It demonstrates how the world is changing through population aging, and how demography is changing in response to it.




Exceptional Longevity


Book Description

States that the number of genuine long-livers is exploding and a substantial proportion of new-borns in developed countries may survive to celebrate their 100th birthday. This book examines the storied realms of exceptional longevity.




Extra Life


Book Description

“Offers a useful reminder of the role of modern science in fundamentally transforming all of our lives.” —President Barack Obama (on Twitter) “An important book.” —Steven Pinker, The New York Times Book Review The surprising and important story of how humans gained what amounts to an extra life, from the bestselling author of How We Got to Now and Where Good Ideas Come From In 1920, at the end of the last major pandemic, global life expectancy was just over forty years. Today, in many parts of the world, human beings can expect to live more than eighty years. As a species we have doubled our life expectancy in just one century. There are few measures of human progress more astonishing than this increased longevity. Extra Life is Steven Johnson’s attempt to understand where that progress came from, telling the epic story of one of humanity’s greatest achievements. How many of those extra years came from vaccines, or the decrease in famines, or seatbelts? What are the forces that now keep us alive longer? Behind each breakthrough lies an inspiring story of cooperative innovation, of brilliant thinkers bolstered by strong systems of public support and collaborative networks, and of dedicated activists fighting for meaningful reform. But for all its focus on positive change, this book is also a reminder that meaningful gaps in life expectancy still exist, and that new threats loom on the horizon, as the COVID-19 pandemic has made clear. How do we avoid decreases in life expectancy as our public health systems face unprecedented challenges? What current technologies or interventions that could reduce the impact of future crises are we somehow ignoring? A study in how meaningful change happens in society, Extra Life celebrates the enduring power of common goals and public resources, and the heroes of public health and medicine too often ignored in popular accounts of our history. This is the sweeping story of a revolution with immense public and personal consequences: the doubling of the human life span.




The Future of Human Longevity


Book Description




The Future of Aging


Book Description

Just as the health costs of aging threaten to bankrupt developed countries, this book makes the scientific case that a biological "bailout" could be on the way, and that human aging can be different in the future than it is today. Here 40 authors argue how our improving understanding of the biology of aging and selected technologies should enable the successful use of many different and complementary methods for ameliorating aging, and why such interventions are appropriate based on our current historical, anthropological, philosophical, ethical, evolutionary, and biological context. Challenging concepts are presented together with in-depth reviews and paradigm-breaking proposals that collectively illustrate the potential for changing aging as never before. The proposals extend from today to a future many decades from now in which the control of aging may become effectively complete. Examples include sirtuin-modulating pills, new concepts for attacking cardiovascular disease and cancer, mitochondrial rejuvenation, stem cell therapies and regeneration, tissue reconstruction, telomere maintenance, prevention of immunosenescence, extracellular rejuvenation, artificial DNA repair, and full deployment of nanotechnology. The Future of Aging will make you think about aging differently and is a challenge to all of us to open our eyes to the future therapeutic potential of biogerontology.




Biomarkers of Human Longevity


Book Description

There is perhaps no other single technology or industry subsector, with the exception of AI, that has more potential to accelerate the realization of real-world impacts in Longevity across the full scope of its sectors and domains - industry, policy, investment, entrepreneurship, policy, and governance - than Biomarkers of Human Longevity. Given the unique confluence of Biomarkers of Human Longevity's disruptive impact and accelerative potential, on the one hand, and the high degree of disharmonization in terms of what they are and how they could and should be used, on the other hand, it is clear to me that there is a pressing unmet need for the production of a dedicated book that takes Biomarkers of Longevity as its central concern and major fulcrum, identifying the true potential that this technology has to increase individual and national Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy (HALE) and Quality-Adjusted Life Expectancy (QALY), optimize strategic decision-making for start-ups and corporations, de-risk investment, provide for the first time a tangible framework for company valuation, due diligence based on human validation, enable reliable forecasting clinical outcomes, serve as an effective platform for safe self-experimentation and personalized therapeutic fine-tuning, and pave the way for a much more tangible, stable and scalable Global Longevity Industry, where Longevity's socially-inclusive humanitarian impact is maximized and its potential ethical and socioeconomic concerns are neutralized. Deep Knowledge Group and its Longevity-focused subsidiaries and affiliates, including its analytical subsidiary Aging Analytics Agency, its specialized investment arm Longevity.Capital, its portfolio companies Longevity Banking Card and Longevity Financial Advisors and the international non-profit consortium Longevity.International, have prioritized the pressing need and the extreme potential of Biomarkers of Human Longevity (and integrated them in various ways into its overall scope of activities and strategic agenda) for several years now, and are expertly positioned to provide a tangible understanding of the major challenges and opportunities to be faced within this domain, and how they can be applied by individuals, institutions and even entire governments in order to achieve their maximum benefits while neutralizing potential pitfalls and issues.




Coping with Methuselah


Book Description

Many medical authorities predict that average life expectancy could well exceed 100 years by mid century and rise even higher soon thereafter. This astonishing prospect, brought on by the revolution in molecular biology and information technology, confronts policymakers and public health officials with a host of new questions. How will increased longevity affect local and global demographic trends, government taxation and spending, health care, the workplace, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid? What ethical and quality-of-life issues are raised by these new breakthroughs? In Coping with Methuselah, a group of practicing scientists and public policy experts come together to address the problems, challenges, and opportunities posed by a longer life span. This book will generate discussion in political, social, and medical circles and help prepare us for the extraordinary possibilities that the future may hold.




Between Zeus and the Salmon


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.