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Preface
Biogerontology, The study of how and why living organisms age, is a young discipline. Only within the last two decades has it attracted the interest of a sufficiently large segment of the biomedical community to be called a seriously studied science. The first issue of Experimental Gerontology was published in 1964. Mechanisms of Ageing and Development was first published in 1972.
The Establishment in 1976 of the National Institute of Ageing, marked a commitment by the government of the USA, to give research into ageing the general viability and prestige it had not previously enjoyed. During this period, several new theories of ageing were elaborated and published.
The beginning of my university studies in 1982, correspond to a period in which these recently developed theories, attracted the interest of researchers worldwide. Many new courses, books and publications, were available to the student. When I decided to study life sciences my main interest was to be able to understand in depth, the main causes of biological changes occurring during the process of ageing.
I attended many seminars on this subject, and whenever an optional paper was required, I selected topics related to the biochemistry of ageing. Recent advances in molecular biology made the subject substantially attractive. New understanding into the chemistry of life, provided advanced knowledge for examining and defining human development and ageing at the deepest molecular level.
In my period as an active student I remember reading that "there are as many theories of ageing as gerontologists." While developing my own hypothesis of ageing I was concerned not to drop down into that classification. I read everything published in the subjects: biology of senescence; biochemistry and genetics of ageing; atmospheric chemistry, ecology and paleontology. I dedicated to those studies, days and nights of thinking, studying, relating learned knowledge and elaborating new schemes, hypotheses and concepts.
Later, when experimenting, testing and verifying my personal findings and ideas, I learned how difficult it is to convince other working scientists, sponsors, and publishers, of the validity of a new hypothesis.
The hypothesis I developed contributes a new concept in the understanding of ageing but also does not dispute the essence of the six main accepted theories of ageing. The hypothesis of ageing which I elaborate integrates the different principles of various theories without opposing to the substance of any of them. Convinced about the importance of having discovered a common factor that fits and applies in all previous understandings of ageing I felt myself encouraged in trying to develop my hypothesis skillfully, to try to validate it, test it, and make it known, so it might turn into a real and accepted scientific theory.
To point out to the reader my personal contributions or own hypothesis, I will type them in "Italics." All other arguments which represent already established ideas known published arguments that I have assembled from articles, books, and lectures, will be typed with "Normal" type.
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