A new textbook provides an overview of the current understanding of aging – from the basic biology of aging to age-related diseases and the role of lifestyle and the environment. The Springer textbook Aging: How Science Works is based on the popular lectures of Professor Carsten Carlberg at the University of Eastern Finland, with Professor Stine Ulven and Dr Eunike Velleuer as co-authors.
Aging is a topic that concerns everyone. It is not a disease, but is associated with natural changes in physiological and biochemical processes in the human body as we age. We all have an individual aging rate, which is largely related to our lifestyle and the environment in which we live. Importantly, the molecular and cellular mechanisms of aging are present in all our cells.
The aging process limits our maximum lifespan, which for us humans is 120 years. However, very few have reached this age. How did their lives differ from others who died younger? Is it just the absence of life-threatening diseases combined with a healthier lifestyle? Or is it built into our genome or epigenome? These are some of the questions the book aims to answer from the perspective of evolution, our genome and epigenome, but also through the functionality of our tissues and cell types.
“To understand the aging process, we need to understand how our bodies are organized and how the environment we are exposed to interacts with cellular processes, such as cell growth, differentiation and death.” write the authors.
In the book they first explain the human genome in relation to the principles of evolution and the basic principles of gene regulation and epigenetics. They then discuss the cellular mechanisms of aging and the impact of nutrition and immunity on the aging process. Common diseases associated with aging, such as type 2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, cancer and Alzheimer’s disease, are also being investigated. Finally, the book provides insight into healthy aging and the possibilities to slow down the aging process.
According to Professor Carlberg, the new textbook summarizes what he learns in his lectures “Molecular Medicine and Genetics”, “Cancer Biology”, “Molecular Immunology” and “Nutrigenomics” on the topic of aging, which has long been his special interest.
Carsten Carlberg is a professor of biochemistry at the Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Eastern Finland. Professor Stine M. Ulven works at the Department of Nutrition at the University of Oslo, Norway, and Dr. Eunike Velleuer at Helios Clinic Center for Child and Adolescent Health, Germany.