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Reptiles are underutilized vertebrate models in the study of the evolution and persistence of senescence. Their unique physiology, indeterminate growth, and increasing fecundity across the adult female lifespan motivate the study of how physiology at the mechanistic level, life history at the organismal level, and natural selection at the evolutionary timescale define lifespan in this diverse taxonomic...
Saturated and monounsaturated fatty acids are very resistant to peroxidative damage, while the more polyunsaturated a fatty acid, the more susceptible it is to peroxidation. Furthermore, the products of lipid peroxidation can oxidatively damage other important molecules. Membrane fatty acid composition is correlated with the maximum lifespans of mammals and birds. Exceptionally long-living mammal...
Honey bees (Apis mellifera) are eusocial insects that exhibit striking caste-specific differences in longevity. Queen honey bees live on average 1–2 years whereas workers live on average 15–38 days in the summer and 150–200 days in the winter. Previous studies of senescence in the honey bee have focused on establishing the importance of extrinsic mortality factors (predation, weather) and behavior...
Although less dramatic than in females, male mammals experience decreasing reproductive function during aging. In primates, multiple facets of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis show evidence of gradual age-related decline, including behavioral, neuroendocrine and endocrine alterations such as decreased testosterone levels, reduced circulating dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS) levels, increased...
Reactive oxygen species (ROS), inevitable byproducts of aerobic metabolism, are known to cause oxidative damage to cells and molecules. This, in turn, is widely accepted as a pivotal determinant of both lifespan and health span. While studies in a wide range of species support the role of ROS in many age-related diseases, its role in aging per se is questioned. Comparative data from a wide range of...
Virtually all biomedical research makes use of a relatively small pool of laboratory-adapted, inbred, isogenic stocks of mice. Although the advantages of these models are many, there are a number of disadvantages as well. When studying a multifaceted process such as aging, the problems associated with using laboratory stocks are greatly inflated. On the other hand, wild-derived mouse stocks, loosely...
In the present review we discuss the potential use of two long-lived mice of the genus Peromyscus—the white-footed mouse (P. leucopus) and the deer mouse (P. maniculatus) maximum lifespan potential ∼8 years for both—to test predictions of theories about aging from the oxidative stress theory, mitochondrial theory and inflammatory theory. Previous studies have shown that P. leucopus cells exhibit superior...
This special issue of AGE showcases powerful alternative or unconventional approaches to basic aging research, including the use of exceptionally long-lived animal model species and comparative methods from evolutionary biology. In this opening paper, we introduce several of these alternative aging research themes, including the comparative phylogenetic approach. This approach applies modern inferential...
Long-term calorie restriction (CR) causes numerous physiological changes that ultimately increase mean and maximum lifespan of most species examined to date. One physiological change that occurs with CR is enhanced immune function, as tested using antigens and mitogens to stimulate an immune response. Fewer studies have used intact pathogen exposure to test whether the enhanced capacity of the immune...
The links between energy expenditure and ageing are different at different levels of enquiry. When studies have examined the relationships between different species within a given class the association is generally negative—animals with greater metabolism per gram of tissue live shorter lives. Within species, or between classes (e.g. between birds and mammals) the association is the opposite—animals...
After humans, mice are the best-studied mammalian species in terms of their biology and genetics. Gerontological research has used mice and rats extensively to generate short- and long-lived mutants, study caloric restriction and more. Mice and rats are valuable model organisms thanks to their small size, short lifespans and fast reproduction. However, when the goal is to further extend the already...
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