The Long and Short of It: The Science of Life Span and Aging - Couverture rigide

Silvertown, Jonathan

 
9780226757896: The Long and Short of It: The Science of Life Span and Aging
Couverture rigide
ISBN 10 : 0226757897 ISBN 13 : 9780226757896
Editeur : University of Chicago Press, 2013

Synopsis

Everything that lives will die. That's the fundamental fact of life. But not everyone dies at the same age: people vary wildly in their patterns of aging and their life spans--and that variation is nothing compared to what's found in other animal and plant species. A giant fungus found in Michigan has been alive since the Ice Age, while a dragonfly lives but four months, a mayfly half an hour. What accounts for these variations--and what can we learn from them that might help us understand, or better manage, our own aging?
With The Long and the Short of It, biologist and writer Jonathan Silvertown offers readers a witty and fascinating tour through the scientific study of longevity and aging. Dividing his daunting subject by theme--death, life span, aging, heredity, evolution, and more--Silvertown draws on the latest scientific developments to paint a picture of what we know about how life span, senescence, and death vary within and across species. At every turn, he addresses fascinating questions that have far-reaching implications: What causes aging, and what determines the length of an individual life? What changes have caused the average human life span to increase so dramatically--fifteen minutes per hour--in the past two centuries? If evolution favors those who leave the most descendants, why haven't we evolved to be immortal? The answers to these puzzles and more emerge from close examination of the whole natural history of life span and aging, from fruit flies, nematodes, redwoods, and much more. The Long and the Short of It pairs a perpetually fascinating topic with a wholly engaging writer, and the result is a supremely accessible book that will reward curious readers of all ages.

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À propos de l?auteur

Jonathan Silvertown is professor of evolutionary ecology and chair of technology-enhanced science education in biological sciences in the Institute of Evolutionary Biology at the University of Edinburgh. He is the author of numerous books on ecology and evolution.

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Éditeur
University of Chicago Press
Date d'édition
2013
Langue
anglais
ISBN 10 
0226757897
ISBN 13 
9780226757896
Reliure
Relié
Nombre de pages
208
Coordonnées du fabricant
non disponible
Personne responsable
non disponible