The roots of aging are multicausal, and marked by several features1:
- Genomic instability caused by DNA damage
- Attrition of the telomeres
- Alterations to the epigenome that controls which genes are turned on and off
- Loss of healthy protein maintenance, known as proteostasis
- Deregulated nutrient sensing caused by metabolic changes
- Mitochondrial dysfunction
- Accumulation of senescent zombielike cells that inflame healthy cells
- Exhaustion of stem cells
- Altered intercellular communication and the production of inflammatory molecules
References
1.
PhD, D. A. S. & LaPlante, M. D. Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Don’t Have To. (Atria Books, 2019).