Recent experimental and theoretical work has examined the possible genetic causes of senescence. These are reviewed, and four types of factors are found to be responsible for the evolution of senescence and age specific fecundity curves: 1. Age specific mortality schedules, 2.Density dependent factors, 3. Density independent factors, 4. Random...
Overall wood density is a complex trait resulting from the interaction of three components: average earlywood density, average latewood density, and latewood proportion. In order to better understand the genetic control of wood density in juvenile Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco), and to assess the utility of
information on its...
Glutathione (GSH) is the predominant low molecular weight thiol antioxidant
in liver tissue. GSH plays an important role in maintaining the intracellular thiol redox
ratio as well as detoxification of electrophiles and xenobiotics. Aging leads to a significant decline (35%; P ≤ 0.05) in hepatocellular GSH levels. Using young (2-4...
Vitamin C is an essential component of the human diet. Uptake of vitamin C in the cell is regulated by the function of sodium-dependent vitamin C transporters (SVCTs). SVCT1 (encoded by the SLC23A1 gene) is expressed in the colon, liver and kidney, where it plays a vital role in determining...
Nuclear Factor, Erythroid Derived 2, Like 2 (NFE2L2 or Nrf2) is the primary transcription factor in cellular defense against oxidative and xenobiotic stresses in higher eukaryotes. This basic leucine zipper transcription factor regulates over 200 antioxidant, detoxification, and lipid metabolizing genes by binding to the Antioxidant Response Element (ARE; a...
Decline in cardiac pump function is a hallmark of aging where mitochondrial decay is an important underlying cause. Although certainly multifactorial in nature, both dysfunction of the machinery involved in the chemiosmotic process of energy transduction and lower capacity to maintain fatty acid-driven respiration are identified as intrinsic factors of...
We examined the effect of daily stress, age, and emotional stability/neuroticism on stress reactivity, using cortisol diurnal rhythms. We used data from the Normative Aging Study (Spiro & Bosse, 2001). The 72 men in this study ranged from 67-93 (M =79.29, SD =4.88). Multilevel modeling showed that higher daily stress...
