Aging, Death, and Human Longevity
Aging, Death, and Human Longevity

Author: Christine Overall

Publisher: Univ of California Press

Published: 2003-02-04

Total Pages: 292

ISBN-13: 9780520938809

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With the help of medicine and technology we are living longer than ever before. As human life spans have increased, the moral and political issues surrounding longevity have become more complex. Should we desire to live as long as possible? What are the social ramifications of longer lives? How does a longer life span change the way we think about the value of our lives and about death and dying? Christine Overall offers a clear and intelligent discussion of the philosophical and cultural issues surrounding this difficult and often emotionally charged issue. Her book is unique in its comprehensive presentation and evaluation of the arguments—both ancient and contemporary—for and against prolonging life. It also proposes a progressive social policy for responding to dramatic increases in life expectancy. Writing from a feminist perspective, Overall highlights the ways that our biases about race, class, and gender have affected our views of elderly people and longevity, and her policy recommendations represent an effort to overcome these biases. She also covers the arguments surrounding the question of the "duty to die" and includes a provocative discussion of immortality. After judiciously weighing the benefits and the risks of prolonging human life, Overall persuasively concludes that the length of life does matter and that its duration can make a difference to the quality and value of our lives. Her book will be an essential guide as we consider our social responsibilities, the meaning of human life, and the prospects of living longer.

The Biology of Human Longevity
The Biology of Human Longevity

Author: Caleb E. Finch

Publisher: Elsevier

Published: 2010-07-28

Total Pages: 640

ISBN-13: 0080545947

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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

Human Longevity, Individual Life Duration, and the Growth of the Oldest-Old Population
Human Longevity, Individual Life Duration, and the Growth of the Oldest-Old Population

Author: Jean-Marie Robine

Publisher: Springer Science & Business Media

Published: 2007-03-21

Total Pages: 443

ISBN-13: 1402048483

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Old-age survival has considerably improved in the second half of the twentieth century. Why has such a substantial extension of human lifespan occurred? How long can we live? In this book, these fundamental questions are explored by experts from diverse fields. They report on recent cutting-edge studies about essential issues of human longevity and social factors of long survival in old age.

Exceptional Longevity
Exceptional Longevity

Author: Bernard Jeune

Publisher:

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 180

ISBN-13:

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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.

Biomarkers of Human Longevity
Biomarkers of Human Longevity

Author: Dmitry Kaminskiy

Publisher:

Published: 2021-10-19

Total Pages: 412

ISBN-13: 9781916391772

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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.

Human Body Size and the Laws of Scaling
Human Body Size and the Laws of Scaling

Author: Thomas T. Samaras

Publisher: Nova Publishers

Published: 2007

Total Pages: 398

ISBN-13: 9781600214080

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Several books have been published on scaling in biology and its ramifications in the animal kingdom. However, none has specifically examined the multifaceted effects of how changes in human height create disproportionately larger changes in weight, surface area, strength and other physiological parameters. Yet, the impact of these non-linear effects on individual humans as well as our world's environment is enormous. Since increasing human body size has widespread ramifications, this book presents findings on the human species and its ecological niche. its community and how the species interacts with its environment. Thus, a few chapters provide an ecological overview of how increasing human body size relates to human evolution, fitness, health, survival and the environment. This book provides a unique purview of the laws of scaling on human performance, health, longevity and the environment. Numerous examples from various research disciplines are used to illustrate the impact of increasing body size on many aspects of human enterprises, including work output, athletics and intellectual performance.

Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries
Explaining Divergent Levels of Longevity in High-Income Countries

Author: National Research Council

Publisher: National Academies Press

Published: 2011-06-27

Total Pages: 200

ISBN-13: 0309217105

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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.

Human Longevity
Human Longevity

Author: Raymond C. Valentine

Publisher: CRC Press

Published: 2014-09-18

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 146659487X

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More than 7 billion people inhabit the earth and all of them are subject to aging. This book is aimed at persons interested in a molecular explanation of how our cells age. Human Longevity: Omega-3 Fatty Acids, Bioenergetics, Molecular Biology, and Evolution is built on the proposition that we age as our mitochondria age. It suggests a revised vers

Aging
Aging

Author: Stuart Jay Olshansky

Publisher:

Published: 2016

Total Pages: 0

ISBN-13: 9781621820802

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"Aging affects us all and is characterized not only by increasing frailty but by increased susceptibility to conditions such as Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. We are gaining an increasing understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying aging, however, and uncovering clues to how life may be prolonged. This book examines the biological basis of aging and research into strategies that may extend lifespan"--

Extra Life
Extra Life

Author: Steven Johnson

Publisher: Penguin

Published: 2021-05-11

Total Pages: 320

ISBN-13: 0525538879

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“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.