Aging :: The truth about aging

For centuries people have been puzzled by the inevitability of human aging. For most of the second half of the twentieth century, aging remained a mystery, or an unsolved biological problem. At the end of the 20th century, a remarkable scientific discovery emerged.

It was not a single discovery in the usual sense, because it was based on a series of important interconnected insights over a long period of time.

These insights made it possible for the very first time to understand the biological reasons for aging in animals and man. It can already be said, however, that the many observations and insights that explain aging will not be accepted as established knowledge for a long time. The field is still full of scientists, and non-scientists, who are just happy to go on speculating about the ‘mystery’ of aging.

Aging: The Paradox of Life, a new book by the scientist Robin Holliday, dispels ignorance by explaining in non-technical language the reasons for aging and the myth of excessive prolongation of life. He writes in an engaging style and with clarity, appealing to the general public and scientists alike.

Robin Holliday is a Fellow of the Royal Society of London and the Australian and Indian Academies of Science. He has worked in several biological fields. He devised an important DNA intermediate in genetic recombination, now known as the ?Holliday structure? (or Holliday junction). Robin Holliday obtained his PH.D. at the University of Cambridge, UK, and carried out his research at the John Innes Institute, Hertford, UK; the National Institute for Medical Research, London; and at CSIRO laboratories in Sydney, Australia. He has published over 250 scientific papers and several books.


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