Genetics of survival.
The fields of gerontology and genetics have merged, spawning novel lines of investigation and generating a wealth of new results in recent years. However, the lack of clarity and consistency in the basic definitions upon which the science of gerontology must rest has fostered a certain amount of enduring confusion. Among the unclear issues are the genetic components of life span and the distinction between "normal" and "pathologic" aging. At a time of massive world population aging, such issues have, beyond their scientific importance, a momentous social and economic impact. A simple axiomatic framework, consisting of three definitions and five axioms, is proposed that clarifies the aforementioned issues and reconciles disparate data in gerontology. Based on this framework, a new classification of genes involved in survival is proposed. Within the Compensatory Adaptation Theory of aging, apparent paradoxes are solved and problems in gerontology may be formulated anew.
CESTI-ISMCM, Université Léonard de Vinci, Paris-la-Défense, France.
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Schächter
D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000235:genetics; D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics*; D005075:Biological Evolution; D006801:Humans; D008954:Models, Biological; D013997:Time Factors