Education, Aging…two seemingly unrelated topics, but with more biology in common than may meet the eye…
You may enjoy the most recent editions of two great blog carnivals:
- Carnival of Education, hosted by Joanne Jacobs.
- Hourglass: a carnival of biogerontology, hosted by Chris at Ouroboros. Chris recently launched this blog carnival to provide a home for “bloggers who are writing about biogerontology, lifespan extension technologies, and aging in general.”
Anne writes my favorite post at Existence is Wonderful, linking education/ learning/ nurture with aging.
She first explains that
“Many people use the word “aging” as a shorthand not just for the mere process of getting older (which is not only inevitable for everything in existence, but something to celebrate — “getting older”, after all, means “experiencing more life”!), but for the physical degeneration that occurs as metabolic, immune, and mechanical side effects take hold as a person ages. Personally I find this dual use of the word “aging” terribly confusing”.
And then adds
“We don’t necessarily know what hard limits are on longevity until we optimize care. I saw a dramatic turnaround in my fish when I learned how to properly configure the tank setup, and I hope to see the day when human medicine makes a similar leap in effectiveness”