82
edits
Changes
From Biolecture.org
Created page with " == Definition == '''Ageing''' (or '''aging''' in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English American English]) is the process of becoming ..."
== Definition ==
'''Ageing''' (or '''aging''' in [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_English American English]) is the process of becoming [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_age older]. The term refers mainly to [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human humans], many other [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Animal animals], and fungi, whereas for example, bacteria, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perennial_plants perennial plants] and some simple animals are potentially [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biologically_immortal biologically immortal].<sup id="cite_ref-1">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-1 [1]]</sup> In a broader sense, ageing can refer to single cells within an organism which have [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cellular_senescence ceased dividing], or to the [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Population_ageing population of a species].<sup id="cite_ref-2">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-2 [2]]</sup>
In humans, ageing represents the accumulation of changes in a human being over time and can encompass physical, psychological, and social changes.<sup id="cite_ref-3">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-3 [3]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-4">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-4 [4]]</sup> Reaction time, for example, may slow with age, while memories and general knowledge typically increase. Ageing is associated with increased risk of cancer, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzheimer's_disease Alzheimer's disease], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabetes diabetes], [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiovascular_disease cardiovascular disease] and [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aging-associated_diseases many more].<sup id="cite_ref-5">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-5 [5]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-6">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-6 [6]]</sup> Of the roughly 150,000 people who die each day across the globe, about two-thirds die from age-related causes.
Current [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theory_of_aging ageing theories] are assigned to the damage concept, whereby the accumulation of damage (such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_oxidation DNA oxidation]) may cause biological systems to fail, or to the programmed ageing concept, whereby the internal processes (epigenetic maintenance such as [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DNA_methylation DNA methylation])<sup id="cite_ref-7">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-7 [7]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-8">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-8 [8]]</sup> inherently may cause ageing. Programmed ageing should not be confused with programmed cell death ([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apoptosis apoptosis]).
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Obesity Obesity] has been proposed to accelerate ageing,<sup id="cite_ref-9">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-9 [9]]</sup><sup id="cite_ref-10">[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing#cite_note-10 [10]]</sup> whereas dietary [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calorie_restriction calorie restriction] in non-primate animals slows ageing while maintaining good health and body functions. In primates (including humans), such [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_extension life-extending] effects remain uncertain.<br/> <br/> [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ageing full text link ]<br/>
== Research trends ==
