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| Aging of the Genome. The Dual Role of DNA in Life and Death | Buy a book...
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| Author(s): | J. Vijg |
| Publisher: | Oxford University Press |
| ISBN: | 9780198569237 |
| Format: | softback |
| 372pp | |
| Price: | £32.50 |
| Review Date: | 09 March 2007 |
| Review: | The theory that somatic mutation explains ageing as a gradual accumulation of random alterations in the DNA of the genome in the cells of our body has proved to be a remarkably robust theory and is compatible with the other theory of ageing – the free-radical theory. This book begins by looking at how life perpetuates itself through random alterations in DNA and how we hope to gain a more complete understanding of how life forms are ordered at the molecular level and how this order can turn into disorder during ageing. The major part of the book describes the logic of random genome damage as a major, highly conserved proximate cause of ageing, discussing the ongoing efforts to unravel the many factors that determine this gradual loss of genome integrity in somatic cells, and critically reviewing the evidence that genome alterations cause ageing and its associated phenotypes, in the context of other possible explanations. Finally, the book looks at the impact of genome deterioration on our options to delay, halt, or even reverse the process of ageing in mammals. |