The Evolution of Aging : How Darwin's Dilemma is Affecting Your Chance for a Longer and Healthier Life [Paperback]

Theodore C. Goldsmith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 16, 2003

Is aging, as most people think, a fundamental, totally unalterable, fact of life? Or is aging actually similar to a universal, but potentially highly treatable, genetic disease? Darwin's dilemma, a little known quirk of the theory of evolution, has for more than 140 years led scientists toward considering aging as inescapable, but recent discoveries and new theoretical work indicate that major medical intervention in the aging process may in fact be possible in the relatively near future.

The author takes us on a fascinating tour of the evolution of aging theories from Darwin to the present and includes descriptions of various discoveries and biological oddities that strongly suggest that aging is a treatable condition. The most serious obstacle to the development of anti-aging medicine may be public opinion.

A former NASA "rocket scientist", the author provides an outsider's viewpoint, understandable writing, and penetrating logical analysis to the often arcane and tradition-bound world of aging theory.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Theodore Goldsmith has an MIT education and over 30 years experience in analyzing, designing, and managing complex space systems for NASA science missions. He lives with his wife in Annapolis, Maryland.

Product Details

• Paperback: 117 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (June 16, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595280692
• ISBN-13: 978-0595280698
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,994,769 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Theodore C. Goldsmith graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and lives with his wife in Annapolis Maryland. His books about theories of biological aging include Aging by Design (2011), An Introduction to Biological Aging Theory (2011), and The Evolution of Aging 2nd Ed. (2006).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very Interesting and Thought Provoking, September 29, 2003

By 

Sirius (Bethesda, MD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Evolution of Aging : How Darwin's Dilemma is Affecting Your Chance for a Longer and Healthier Life (Paperback)

This is a very interesting book, especially if you are in the older half of the population, enjoy scientific mysteries, or are otherwise interested in theories of biological aging. The book makes a pretty good logical case that aging is a potentially highly treatable condition and that therefore we, specifically the U.S. Government National Institutes of Health, should be spending a lot more money on anti-aging research. The author thinks a fifty-percent improvement in human life span is a reasonably short-term possibility.

In this case the scientific quandary, (the dilemma of the title), is whether or not aging is an evolved characteristic in the same way that eyes, claws, and fangs are the result of evolution. There is a lot of circumstantial evidence that aging is evolved but Darwin's theory of evolution says aging can't be an evolved characteristic because it is adverse to survival and therefore counter to survival-of-the-fittest. This has resulted in two scientific camps. The larger camp goes with Darwin's theory and has produced at least three different theories in which aging is not evolved but is some sort of defect or fundamental unchangeable property of life. The smaller camp, (including the author), has developed at least three different theories that say that aging is evolved and that Darwin's 143 year old theory needs at least some minor adjustments to accommodate aging and some other similarly incompatible characteristics of animals. According to the book, Darwin himself thought aging was evolved, despite his theory!

Why should we care? The people in the non-evolved camp tend to believe that aging is inescapable and that therefore anti-aging research is a waste of time and money. The people in the evolved camp tend to think the chance for major medical intervention in aging is much better. Depending on theories, researchers will look in different places for answers. One thing seemed clear to me: The scientific justification for the idea that aging is an unalterable fact of life is rather weak. This is significant considering that, (according to the author), about 80 percent of the public and a probably larger percentage of health professionals think that major improvements in life span are either impossible or very unlikely.

Along the way to these conclusions, the book provides a lot of interesting factoids about human mortality, miscellaneous bizarre aging and life span characteristics of various animals and other organisms, summaries of all the theories including Darwin's theory of natural selection, and results of a survey on public opinions about aging. The author maintains a web site that provides one-click access to on-line resources cited in the book. This book is relatively free of scientific jargon.

3.0 out of 5 stars A known solution for Darwin's dilemma, October 5, 2006

By 

Libertini Giacinto (Naples, Italy) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Evolution of Aging : How Darwin's Dilemma is Affecting Your Chance for a Longer and Healthier Life (Paperback)

This is an interesting book but neglects a theory proposed in 1988 (Libertini G, Journal of Theoretical Biology, 132, 145-162) that gives a consistent evolutionary explanation for the increment of mortality with increasing chronological age observed for many species in the wild. This theory is now supported by a strong empirical evidence (Libertini G., TheScientificWorld Journal, 2006, 6, 1086-1108) and is a good possible solution for Darwin's dilemma.