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Lecturer(s)
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Course content
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Overview of topics: Aging and lifespan. Is aging a disease and can it be treated? Evolution of aging. Is aging an adaptation? If not, how could it have evolved? The mystery of menopause. Chronological and biological age. How do we measure aging? Epigenetic and other molecular clocks. Theories of aging. Is aging programmed, or merely the result of accumulated random damage? Cellular-level aging. Cellular senescence. Aging of stem cells. Tissue-, organ- and system-level aging - immunity, hormonal changes, influence of the microbiome. Stress. Damage and its repair. Hormesis. Anti-aging interventions - caloric restriction, exercise, senolytics, epigenetic reprogramming, heterochronic parabiosis Genetics of longevity - do we know the secrets of centenarians? Progeroid syndromes. Population aging. Gompertz's law. Does aging slow down after a hundred? Model organisms in aging biology. Record holders and their tips and tricks.
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Learning activities and teaching methods
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Lecture
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Learning outcomes
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Students will gain an overview of the current state of knowledge in the biology of aging, from cells to populations. They will also become familiar with the concept of successful aging and the possibilities for anti-aging interventions.
Describe and explain aging at the level of molecules/cells/tissues/organs/organisms/populations.
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Prerequisites
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unspecified
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Assessment methods and criteria
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Mark
Presentation of a research paper on aging, followed by a discussion
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Recommended literature
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Edward J. Masoro, Steven N. Austad (eds.). (2010). Handbook of the Biology of Aging. Academic Press.
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Nicolas Musi a Peter Hornsby (eds.). (2015). Handbook of the Biology of Aging 8th Edition.. Academic Press (2015).
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Robert Arking. (2019). Biology of Longevity and Aging - pathways and prospects.. Oxford university press (2019).
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Suresh Rattan. (2009). Biogerontology - Compendium to accompany a lecture course on the biology of ageing.
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Suresh Rattan, Peter Kristensen, Brian F. C. Clark (eds.). (2006). Understanding and Modulating Aging. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.
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