Author(s): Michael Fossel

Science

Science is on the cusp of a revolutionary breakthrough. We now understand more about aging - and how to prevent and reverse it - than ever before.

Dr. Michael Fossel has been in the forefront of aging research for decades. In The Telomerase Revolution, he takes us on a scientific journey, with startling insights into the nature of human aging.

Scientists now know that human aging is the result of cellular aging. Every time a cell reproduces, its telomeres - the tips of the chromosomes - shorten. With every shortening of the telomeres, the cell's ability to repair its molecules decreases. It ages. Human aging is the result of the aging of the body's trillions of cells.

But some of our cells don't age. Sex cells and stem cells can reproduce indefinitely, without aging, because they create an enzyme called telomerase. Telomerase re-lengthens the telomeres, keeping these cells young.

The Telomerase Revolution describes how telomerase is starting to be used as a powerful therapeutic tool, with the potential to dramatically extend life spans and even reverse human aging.

'The Telomerase Revolution is a remarkable book, telling a fascinating story that pulls together at last a single coherent theory of how and why growing old leads to so many different forms of illness. It also offers a tantalizing promise that we might soon know not only how to cure and prevent age-related diseases, but how to reset the aging process itself. Michael Fossel is a radical optimist.' - Matt Ridley, author of Genome and The Rational Optimist