Biology of Aging

The study of life span extension includes genetic, hormonal, and nutritional components that are part of the subject matter of biogerontology. The impact of success in achieving life span extension is of great interest to social and psychological gerontology, to practitioners of geriatric medicine, and to policy makers in virtually every nation in the world.

The other side of the life span coin is exemplified by the diseases that mimic accelerated aging. Research on these human progeroid syndromes such as progeria and Werner's Syndrome, is being conducted in order to try to cure or prevent the diseases. Understanding how the genes responsible for these diseases produce their life-shortening effects is another approach to finding the key aging processes needed to ensure "normal" life spans.