Aging, Biotechnology, and the Future

Catherine Y. Read, Ph.D., R.N., is an associate professor of adult health and associate dean of the Undergraduate Program at the Boston College School of Nursing. Robert C. Green, M.D., M.P.H., is a professor of neurology, medicine, and epidemiology at the Boston University School of Medicine. Michael A. Smyer, Ph.D., is a professor of psychology and director of the Center on Aging and Work at Boston College. He is the coeditor of Challenges of an Aging Society, also published by Johns Hopkins.

This is a brilliant and useful book that summarizes much information from different points of view into a unified whole... So vibrant in its clarity,, so audacious in its thinking, it adds much to the luster of this remarkable book, one that deserves a wide readership. Doody's Review Service 2008 A comprehensive yet concise, simple-to-read synopsis of the issue involving modern biotechnology/aging research... Highly recommended. Choice 2009 A thought-provoking starting point for anyone interested in the varied and reciprocal implications of population aging and developments in biotechnology. -- Stephen J. Cutler, PhD Gerontologist 2009 An approachable... collection of essays -- Gareth Southwell Metapsychology 2009

• PrefaceList of Contributors Part I: IntroductionChapter 1. Reality check: What Is Genetic Research on Aging Likely to Produce, and What Are the Ethical and Clinical Implications of Those Advances? Chapter 2. Meeting the Challenges of a Diverse Aging SocietyPart II: ImmortalityChapter 3. Immortality Through cloning? Reproduction, Regeneration, and the PosthumanChapter 4. The Transhumanist Movement: A Flawed Response to Aging and Its Natural ConsequenceChapter 5. Stem cell Research and InterventionChapter 6. The Ethical, Legal, and Social Implications of Antiaging TechnologiesChapter 7. Stem Cells and Aging: Quality and Quantity of Life in an Unjust World Part III: CentenariansChapter 8. Centenarians and GeneticsChapter 9. What Can We learn From Centenarians? Chapter 10. A Developmental Perspective on Aging and Genetic Technology: A Response to Studies of CentenariansPart IV: Genetic TestingChapter 11. Genetic Testing for Alzheimer Disease: The REVEAL Study Chapter 12. The Implications of Genetic testing for Alzheimer DiseaseChapter 13. Genetic Susceptibility to Alzheimer DiseaseChapter 14. Psychological Issues in Genetic TestingChapter 15. Genotype, Phenotype, and Primary care: Why the New Genetics Technology Is Not Ready for Primary Care Part V: Ethical and Social PerspectivesChapter 16. Genetics, Aging, and Primary care: Ethical Implications for CliniciansChapter 17. Aging, Genetics, and Social JusticeChapter 18. The Ethics of Aging: Question of Ends at the End of LifeChapter 19. A Lonely New World—or Me, Myself, and IIndex