Human Senescence : Evolutionary and Biocultural Perspectives

It is only comparatively recently in evolutionary terms that humans have developed late-life survival. Looking at anthropological, gerontological and biocultural evidence, Human Senescence is a text that explores why humans age only slowly over our lifespan, and what impacts this has on our health and lives today.

Much research on the biology of senescence is on cell-lines, nematodes or fruit flies, that are only of peripheral relevance to the problems encountered in humans. Human Senescence is a text which reviews the evolutionary biology of human senescence and life span, and the evolutionarily recent development of late-life survival. It examines how human patterns of and variability in growth and development have altered later life survival probabilities and competencies, and how survival during mid-life contributes to senescent dysfunction and alteration. Discussing possibilities of further extending human life span, it gives a better understanding of how humans came to senesce as slowly as we do over our lifespan. Bringing together gerontological, anthropological and biocultural research, it explores human variation in chronic disease, senescence and life span as outcomes of early life adaptation and the success of humankind's sociocultural evolution. It is a benchmark publication for all interested in how and why we age.