An Introduction to the Redox Theory of Aging

There are a lot of theories of aging. Simply outlining the numerous categories of theory and offering a few comments as to which of the better known theories are currently well supported, dead, or disputed is a fairly detailed undertaking. It is hard to avoid delving into the history of the field when explaining how the research community ended up where it is today in terms of the various camps. There are evolutionary theories that seek to explain how aging came about, there are damage accumulation theories of aging, programmed aging theories that see aging as an evolved program of individual self-destruction, and any number of single-mechanism theories based on one or more researchers generalizing their narrow area of familiarity out to the whole body. Usually overgeneralizing, to be truthful: aging is a complex mix of at least initially independent causes, not one single mechanism. The diversity of theories is really a reflection of just how much yet remains uncertain in the study of human biochemistry. In the sciences you will find theories proliferating wildly wherever there are few definitive answers due to the sheer complexity of the systems under examination. Inventive exploration and theorizing continues until some faction can prove themselves correct and everyone else wrong beyond any reasonable doubt. My expectation is that damage accumulation theories are mostly correct, that the SENS proposals contain a fair digest of which damage is fundamental and important rat...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Medicine, Biotech, Research Source Type: blogs