Noted cell biologist William R. Clark clearly and skillfully describes how senescence begins at the level of individual cells and how cellular replication may be bound up with aging of the entire organism. He explores the evolutionary origin and function of aging, the cellular connections between aging and cancer, the parallels between cellular senescence and Alzheimer's disease, and the insights gained through studying human genetic disorders—such as Werner's syndrome—that mimic the symptoms of aging.

Acknowledgments; Introduction; 1. Aging, Senescence, and Lifespan; 2. The Nature of Cellular Senescence and Death; 3. The Evolution of Senescence and Death; 4. Of Embryos and Worms and Very Old Men: The Developmental Genetics of Senescence and Lifespan; 5. Human Genetic Diseases That Mimic the Aging Process; 6. Cycling to Scenescence; 7. Replicative Immortality: Cancer and Aging; 8. Caloric Restriction and Maximum Lifespan; 9. With Every Breath We Take: Oxidative Stress and Cellular Senescence; 10. The Aging Brain; 11. A Conditional Benefit; Biblography; Index

The Biological Basis of Aging and Death William R. Clark, UCLA

"Clark effortlessly takes readers from the simple to the complex, from a discussion of single-celled organisms to human beings.... He also does a nice job of exploring the causes of Alzheimer's disease, various forms of cancer and an array of genetic disorders that afflict the young by making them age prematurely.... Neatly informative."--Publishers Weekly