1.0 INTRODUCTION:
According to some formal definitions of aging:
Oxford defines general aging as the process of change in the properties of a material occurring over a period, either spontaneously or through deliberate action. Biological aging is simply defined in oxford dictionary as the process of being old.
The term "aging" refers to the biological process of growing older in a deleterious sense, what some authors call "senescence" (Williams, 1957; Comfort, 1964; Finch, 1990).
Aging is defined as the process of becoming older, a process that is genetically determined and environmentally modulated (Rogina B, Reenan RA, Nilsen SP, and Helfand SL, 2000).
To expatiate on the formal definitions mentioned above, living organisms are nothing but
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Gerontology overlaps with numerous other fields such as physiology, psychology and sociology hence it is multidisciplinary in nature. Gerontologists view aging in terms of four distinct processes: chronological aging, biological aging, psychological aging, and social aging. Chronological aging is the definition of aging based on a person's years lived from birth.
Biological aging refers to the physical changes that reduce the efficiency of organ systems.
Psychological aging includes the changes that occur in sensory and perceptual processes, cognitive abilities, adaptive capacity, and
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It involves interdisciplinary research on biological aging's causes, effects, and mechanisms.
Biomedical gerontology, also known as experimental gerontology and life extension, is a sub-discipline of biogerontology that endeavors to slow, prevent, and even reverse aging in both humans and animals. By preventing senescent changes in animals, these therapies would prevent the onset of age-related disease and frailty, extending both average and maximum lifespan. Most "life extensionists" believe the human life span can be increased within the next century, if not sooner.
1.0.6 Effects of aging on humans
Many common characteristic features of aging are observed by most of humans during their life span from birth to death, few of them as listed below:
• The ability to hear high frequency sounds above 20kHz is lost in teenage years.
• After a peak in cognitive performance a progressive decline begins and continues here after in the mid 20s.
• Photoaging causes wrinkles particularly affecting the sun exposed areas by the age of 30.
• There is a sharp decline in female fertility after age 35.
• Presbyopia in eyes becomes apparent in the mid