Review by Booklist Review
Clark believes that the study of aging is one of the most mysterious and exciting areas of biomedical research. His fascinating and informative book conveys his belief, if the reader is willing to stay with its close reasoning and scientific terminology. Clark examines aging and death at the cellular level. Cellular processes that deal with "programmed" and accidental death began far down in the evolutionary chain; indeed, one of the most remarkable aspects of the subject is how closely those processes resemble one another in the simplest and most complex organisms. As Clark works his way through recent research, he points out difficulties in separating cause and effect and the many questions that still remain unanswered. How cells keep time is only one of the provocative questions he raises. Other subjects include the roles of genes and environment, of free radicals and antioxidants, and of unbounded and restricted eating. One of the book's most engaging elements is Clark's ability to show how scientists think about problems and approaches in the field. (Reviewed March 15, 1999)0195125932William Beatty
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A professor emeritus of immunology at UCLA, Clark here examines "the process of aging from a new and increasingly important perspective, that of cell and molecular biology and the underlying discipline of genetics." When addressing each of these biological subfields, Clark effortlessly takes readers from the simple to the complex, from a discussion of single-celled organisms to human beings. Along the way, he summarizes the latest scientific information while outlining prospects for future research. Although this is a scholarly book, not a how-to manual, Clark does discuss strategies for extending the average human life by caloric restriction (reductions of 20% to 25% seem to be required) and the use of antioxidants (natural forms found in fruits and vegetables appear to be much more effective than supplements). 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. Finally, in this neatly informative work, Clark uses a sociological and political perspective to probe the tensions likely to arise between length of life and quality of life as medical advances continue to accumulate, and to consider the broad ramifications inherent in an aging population. 21 linecuts. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
As in his previous books, Clark (immunology, emeritus, UCLA; The New Healers: Molecular Medicine in the Twenty-First Century, LJ 12/97) does not hesitate to introduce the lay reader to complex concepts in cell and molecular biology. The news media and popular magazines tend to overestimate the impact of aging research on humans, but Clark looks at things realistically, especially the effects of reduced caloric intake and antioxidants at the cellular level. Clark concludes his book with an interesting discussion of the economic and social impact a longer lifespan might have on humans. Clark's is less anecdotal than some of the other aging books on the market: Steve Austad's Why We Age (Wiley, 1997), Leonard Hayflick and Robert Butler's How and Why We Age (Ballantine, 1994), and John J. Medina's The Clock of Ages (LJ 3/15/96). He sticks to the scientific research and refers to articles published in top-ranked, peer-reviewed scientific publications in his bibliography. Recommended for larger public libraries.ÄMargaret Henderson, Huntington, NY (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A virtual textbook on what the growing knowledge of biochemistry, genetics, and molecular biology is revealing about the basic mechanisms of aging. Clark, professor emeritus of immunology at Univ. of Calif., Los Angeles, whose previous work, The New Healers: Molecular Medicine in the Twenty-First Century (1997), seriously challenged readers not trained in these sciences, has returned to the classroom for yet another dense lecture, complete with graphs, tables, and diagrams. With technical expertise, he describes in detail how the process of aging, or senescence, takes place at the level of individual cells and what is known about the internal regulation of that process by our genes. He relates how research into various genetic disorders that mimic the human aging process, such as Hutchinson-Gilford progeria and Werner's syndrome, is providing clues to the involvement of genes in the aging process; and he dismisses claims that rejuvenation or immortality can be achieved through the manipulation of telomeres, those segments of DNA at the tip ends of chromosomes that have been called the cell's internal timekeepers. The effects of caloric restriction on lifespan are considered, as is the role of antioxidants in reducing the risk of deadly cancers and cardiovascular disease. What is clear from Clark's text is that more is known about how and why we age than has ever been known before, and that with the coming completion of the Human Genome Project, knowledge of the genes involved in aging will greatly expand. In his final chapter, which is the book's least technical and most thought-provoking, Clark considers briefly what the impact on society will be as that knowledge is applied and leads to a longer, healthier average human lifespan. A scientist's careful, unsensational account of the current status of research into aging that requires from the reader a level of commitment well beyond mere curiosity.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Review by Booklist Review
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Review by Library Journal Review
Review by Kirkus Book Review
