Foundations in Biogerontology

Abstract

Scientific methods have gained a reputation in the past few centuries as the primal candidate to address the complex questions of the natural world. Despite being one of the most inevitable and inexorable processes in human biology, ageing had long escaped the attention of scientists rigorously involved in alleviating human ailments. However, in the past few decades, dedicated efforts of various foundations, research institutions, and industries have mainly contributed to our understanding of ageing. A new field of study called Biogerontology was introduced to deal with the complexity of metabolism and biological mechanisms that drive ageing, filling in the lacuna between Gerontology and Geriatrics. This chapter provides a concise account of various theories of ageing and how their collective effects could lead to the currently established hallmarks of ageing.