This is not entirely astonishing, but the report offers an interesting
synthesis:
Scripps Research Institute
http://www.scripps.edu/
The genetics of aging: New study says cell division errors may be the common
link
La Jolla CA., March 31, 2000 -- Gradual genetic changes may be the source of
many, if not all illnesses of aging, including breast cancer, osteoporosis,
Alzheimer's disease and arthritis. A new study by scientists in The Skaggs
Institute for Chemical Biology at The Scripps Research Institute (TSRI) in La
Jolla and the Genomics Institute of the Novartis Research Foundation,
published in the latest issue of Science, concludes that human aging and its
associated diseases and conditions can be traced to a gradual increase in
cell division errors in tissues throughout the body. This functional change
begins slowly in middle age and increases gradually with advancing age.
According to Richard A. Lerner, M.D., an author of the paper, "Mitotic
Misregulation and Human Aging," "This represents a radical change in the way
people have thought about aging. While scientists have believed that aging is
a disease in which cells stop dividing, this study suggests that aging is
really a disease of quality control. In this case the manufactured product is
a new cell. As we get older, altered gene expression results in cells with
diminished function." [etc]
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