Cheating Time: Science, Sex and Aging - Roger G. Gosden - Hardcover Book

The quest to prolong our youth has spurred numerous quack remedies and fraudulent claims, but it has also inspired serious scientific investigation, yielding important clues about the aging process and what might realistically be done to arrest it. In Cheating Time, the acclaimed researcher Roger Gosden tells us what scientists have learned so far, particularly in the investigation of hormones and the paramount role they play in the aging process. As we discover, there may be a tradeoff between reproductive capacity and longevity; the hormones that govern our reproductive lives can turn on us in later years, when, paradoxically, we may suffer from a drop in hormone levels or from the cumulative effects of overexposure to these same hormones. Drawing on his medical expertise, historical knowledge, and good humor, Gosden shares amusing anecdotes as he discusses fascinating theories and current research efforts that are giving us some good reasons to be optimistic. The trajectory of human life need not be one of inexorable decay and decline. While we cannot hope to attain eternal youth, we are in the process of discovering how to live longer lives in good health, how to extend our biological clocks a bit further, and how to cheat time.

The quest to prolong our youth has spurred numerous quack remedies and fraudulent claims. It has also inspired serious research efforts, where new technologies and cross-disciplinary investigations are starting to pry loose the secrets of the aging process. Researchers have recently announced that people may soon be able to live to be 150, or more. In this book, the acclaimed editor tells us what scientists have learned so far, particularly about the role of hormones in aging. Focusing on the link (and possible tradeoffs) between longevity and reproductive capacity, Gosden combines fascinating theories and findings with engaging anecdotes of life on the frontlines of this compelling area of scientific inquiry. He offers good reasons to be optimistic. While no one is patenting eternal youth just yet, science has made astonishing gains in understanding how we can live longer lives in better health.