From the Publisher
David Stipp is the ideal ambassador to the sometimes surreal landscape of life extension. How is it possible to understand so much, to explain so clearly, to tell a story so engagingly and so well? I hope he keeps writing books until he’s 300 years old. (And guess what? It’s not entirely out of the question!)”
—MARY ROACH, bestselling author of Stiff, Spook, and Bonk
“Well-researched, excellent book on the progress of the biology of aging.”
—Robert N. Butler, founding director, National Institute on Aging
SEPTEMBER 2010 - AudioFile
Using data on animals ranging in size from dwarf mice to elephants, the author looks at what we know about the mystery of aging, allowing readers to draw their own conclusions. He focuses on experiments and researchers studying free radicals, antioxidants, calorie restriction, and resveratrol. Not written for the scientifically timid, the book contains plenty of the language of genetics, biochemistry, and zoology. Narrator Sean Runnette takes it all in stride. His ability with the extensive technical vocabulary makes it sound like he must have written the book. He reads briskly, which matters little, as no listener will ever remember all the rapidly fired statistics. Of special merit is Runnette’s delivery of the author’s delightful scientific sense of humor. J.A.H. © AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
According to former Wall Street Journal science and technology reporter Stipp, scientists are coming close to achieving the goal of using "the powerful new tools of molecular biology" to "shrink death's dominion."Since the turn of the 20th century, the life expectancy of Americans has increased dramatically, thanks to major improvements in sanitation, decreased infant mortality and the introduction of antibiotics, but only now are gerontologists beginning to make significant headway on the causes of aging. In his intriguing debut, Stipp delves into the story that began in the 1930s with the discovery that a calorie-restricted diet increases life expectancy, and continues with the current effort to develop safe drugs that will mimic the effect of a CR diet. The author begins with his 2006 WSJ front-page story about how daily doses of resveratrol, found in red wine, not only protected rodents from the effects of a devastatingly rich diet, but apparently rejuvenated them. Add to this the fact that a genetic mutation causing dwarfism, which suppresses growth hormones, is also a life extender, and the basis for a new comprehensive theory is emerging. A group of genes that normally control the production of cell proteins can be switched to activate cell-repair mechanisms, causing them to absorb the "accumulation of harmful crud . . . thought to play a major role in aging." Scientists have now established that the rate of aging in widely diverse organisms is not only amazingly plastic but controllable. The same CR mimetic drugs that are being developed to ward off the ravages of old age can also help counter the effects of obesity. To rival the advances of the 20th century in increased life-expectancy, Stipp estimates that the federal government will need to launch a federal program on par with the 1960s Apollo project. "Sadly," he writes, "comparative gerontology . . . has long been one of biomedicine's poor cousins. Indeed, it's arguable that most of the lines of research covered in this book are lamentably underfunded."Though increased funding will be difficult to come by, Stipp makes a convincing argument for more widespread anti-aging research. Agent: Lisa Adams/The Garamond Agency
