Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Strategies & Market Trends : Booms, Busts, and Recoveries -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: BubbaFred who wrote (49468)	5/5/2004 12:28:19 AM
From: BubbaFred	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 74559

Snapshot \| Aging Gracefully, Retiring Reluctantly the-scientist.com When our readers plan to retire Younger than 50: 4.6%, 50-54: 2.7% 55-59: 6.9% 60-64: 23.7% 64-69: 40.5% 70-75: 11.5% Older than 75: 3.4% Never: 6.5% 5-Prime \| Science and the Golden Years 1. What does it mean to age? More than just annual birthday parties, wrinkles, and gray hairs, aging has two main components: primary aging, which is the natural process of senescence; and secondary aging, due to age-related diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, and macular degeneration. 2. What's responsible for aging in humans? Outside of gender (see next question) only 25% of lifespan variability is due to genetics; the rest depends on behavior and the environment.1 Habits such as smoking, excess drinking, and prolonged unprotected sun exposure reduce longevity; but researchers have implicated problems at the cellular and molecular levels as well. Oxidative stress, telomere shortening, build-up of DNA damage, mitochondrial deterioration, and insulin-receptor signaling all contribute to aging. Restricting calories increases the lifespans of mice and worms, but as for us, researchers are unsure. 3. What's to learn from the long-lived? While gender is a huge factor--over 90% of centenarians are women--lifestyle choices also play a role in passing the 100-year mark. Overall, centenarians tend to have a more stable life, cope with stress more effectively, and pay more attention to their nutritional habits. Researchers are still investigating if centenarians share genes that get them past that three-digit mark (see Research \| Life Expectancy, From the Genetic Side). 4. How's the anti-aging research going? It's common sense: Keeping people alive longer is only desirable if people stay healthy. So, instead of just focusing on treating and preventing age-related diseases, scientists want to maintain overall good health throughout life.1 While some researchers are trying to develop a drug to mimic the benefits of caloric restriction,2 others are investigating the link between aging and genes that regulate metabolism, mitochondrial function, sensory neurons, and reproductive signaling.3 5. What about the ethics of anti-aging research? It's a growing area of concern. If anti-aging therapies or medications become available, issues about the right to access will arise.2 Society also needs to consider the financial implications of having an increasingly large elderly population. --Maria W. Anderson References 1. A. Abbott, "Growing old gracefully," Nature, 428:116-8, March 11, 2004. 2. E. T. Juengst, et al., "Antiaging research and the need for public dialogue," Science, 299:1323, 2003. 3. L. Guarente and C. Kenyon, "Genetic pathways that regulate ageing in model organisms," Nature, 408:255-62, 2000.