Genetics and Evolution of Aging

The study of ageing has recently been transformed by the application of tools and ideas from genetics and evolution. This development began in 1980, and has since been gathering momentum. This volume collects most of the principles contributing to this new direction in ageing research. Additionally the book incorporates elements from both molecular genetics and evolutionary genetics, uniting two divergent strategies in the study of ageing. Some of the book’s articles are more molecular, and some are more evolutionary in their orientation, while other contributions combine both approaches. The book should thus be of broad interest through all levels of biology, from molecular biology to evolution biology. The phylogenetic diversity covered by the articles is also fairly great: from yeast to plants, nematodes to Drosophila, and rodents to man. Nonetheless, there is a unity in the treatment, with questions like mutation-accumulation, number of loci, and the possibility of postponing ageing arising repeatedly throughout the discussions of particular taxonomic groups. This volume should be a good starting place for graduate students interested in biological ageing research. It is also a convenient collection for research workers in the area, who may need to track down an important idea or result. Finally, the book as a whole provides a bracing overview of biological ageing.