title: Thermodynamics and information in aging: why aging is not a mystery and how we will be able to make rational interventions.
abstract: Currently, the aging research field lacks consensus in its focus and methodology. Foundational principles, such as the evolutionary origins and physiological definition of aging, remain controversial. The aim of this paper is to resolve these issues. By applying the concepts of thermodynamics and information in an evolutionary context, the aging phenotype can be derived from first principles. Life uses information storage to maintain its distance from thermodynamic equilibrium. Since it is impossible to make any process 100% efficient, a selective force (i.e., natural selection) is needed to maintain the information's viability. Natural selection operates upon generations, and for reasons discussed subsequently, the somatic body cannot implement an analogous selective process. The aging phenotype we see can be derived from this model along with a number of insights that will enhance our ability to make intelligent and rational interventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biochemistry, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada. 2mrh@qlink.queensu.ca
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hamalainen
mesh_terms: D000375:Aging / Q000235:genetics / Q000502:physiology*; D016922:Cellular Senescence / Q000502:physiology; D004249:DNA Damage / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D010641:Phenotype; D012641:Selection, Genetic; D013234:Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism; D016615:Telomere / Q000502:physiology; D013816:Thermodynamics