Caleb E. Finch – författare

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

Global Air Pollution in Aging: Reading Smoke Signals is a complete reference connecting environmental pollution research to the human aging process. Since 1800, lifespans have more than doubled as infections declined and medicine improved. But the 20th century introduced a new global scourge of air pollution from fossil fuels with the potential to damage arteries, hearts and lungs that has been related to chronic exposure of air pollution from fossil fuels. Risk areas of study include childhood obesity, brain damage associated with air pollution, increased risk for autism in children and dementia in older adults.

In humans and animals, air pollution stimulates chronic inflammation in different organs, and genetic vulnerability to air pollution is being recognized, particularly for carriers of the Alzheimer risk gene ApoE4.

Connects environmental pollution research to the human aging process Raises new issues relevant to the controversies on air pollution and global warming, challenging assumptions that lifespan will continue to increase in the 21st Century Examines the burden of air pollution to disadvantaged populations, with anticipated greater impact in developing countries which rely on fossil fuels for economic development in future decades

The study of ageing has recently been transformed by the application of tools and ideas from genetics and evolution. This development began in 1980, and has since been gathering momentum. This volume collects most of the principles contributing to this new direction in ageing research. Additionally the book incorporates elements from both molecular genetics and evolutionary genetics, uniting two divergent strategies in the study of ageing. Some of the book's articles are more molecular, and some are more evolutionary in their orientation, while other contributions combine both approaches. The book should thus be of broad interest through all "levels" of biology, from molecular biology to evolution biology. The phylogenetic diversity covered by the articles is also fairly great: from yeast to plants, nematodes to Drosophila, and rodents to man. Nonetheless, there is a unity in the treatment, with questions like mutation-accumulation, number of loci, and the possibility of postponing ageing arising repeatedly throughout the discussions of particular taxonomic groups. This volume should be a good starting place for graduate students interested in biological ageing research.It is also a convenient collection for research workers in the area, who may need to track down an important idea or result. Finally, the book as a whole provides a bracing overview of biological ageing.

In this third volume on longevity Fondation Ipsen has again collected the most recent results in research on genes and diet in the evolution of human longevity, educational level and longevity, cognitive impairment and survival at older age and other contributions. The preponderance of relatively short - compared to long-lived organisms suggests that morphogenesis is easier to accomplish than is maintenace of soma, whereas the broad range of longevities of organisms demonstrates that maintaining soma for extended periods of time is possible. The underlying assumption of "disposable soma" theory of aging is that the expense of maintaining somatic cells depends on their contribution to the welfare of the germ cells.

The study of aging has recently been transformed by the application of tools and ideas from genetics and evolution. This development began in 1980, and has since been gathering momentum. The present volume collects most of the principles contributing to this new direction in aging research. Additionally the book incorporates elements from both molecular genetics and evolutionary genetics, uniting two divergent strategies in the study of aging. Some of the book's articles are more molecular, and some are more evolutionary in their orientation, some contributions combine both approaches in a way that has rarely been seen. The book will thus be of broad interest through all 'levels' of biology, from molecular biology to evolutionary biology. The phylogenetic diversity covered by the articles is also fairly great: from yeast to plants, nematodes to Drosophila, and rodents to man. Nonetheless, there is a unity to the treatment, with questions like mutation-accumulation, number of loci, and the possibility of postponing aging arising repeatedly throughout the discussions of particular taxonomic groups.There are few better starting places for graduate students interested in biological aging research than this volume. It is also a convenient collection for research workers in the area, who may need to track down an important idea or result. Finally, the book as a whole provides a bracing overview of biological aging.

What can social science, and demography in particular, reasonably expect to learn from biological information? There is increasing pressure for multipurpose household surveys to collect biological data along with the more familiar interviewer-respondent information. Given that recent technical developments have made it more feasible to collect biological information in non-clinical settings, those who fund, design, and analyze survey data need to think through the rationale and potential consequences. This is a concern that transcends national boundaries. Cells and Surveys addresses issues such as which biologic/genetic data should be collected in order to be most useful to a range of social scientists and whether amassing biological data has unintended side effects. The book also takes a look at the various ethical and legal concerns that such data collection entails.