Life and death matter...

[Daniel Christensen]

Can anyone recommend something in popular science that explains a bit about living, dying and/ or the ageing process?

[Ken Urakawa]

Originally Posted by Daniel Christensen

Can anyone recommend something in popular science that explains a bit about living, dying and/ or the ageing process?

In what context? Are you looking at more physiological? Psycho-social? Spiritual?

[Daniel Christensen]

Biological/ physiological. Needs to be fairly accessible (i.e. my biological science education is about high-school graduate level).

That said, if you know of some good books that explore other aspects, don't hold back...

[Neill Smith]

This video is way out there, but it fits your description and is very entertaining.

Robb Wolf can probably speak to this. I remember him mentioning cell division and telomere length in a post long ago.

[Steven Low]

Telomere length.. if it comes to that. That would be upper limit.

Mainly mutations to vital stuff and cancer as you get older. Mutations mostly accumulated from environmental exposure to mutagens/carcinogenic agents by the air we breathe, the food we eat, amounts of sunlight we are exposed to and things of that nature. One of theories out there is the free radical theory which you may want to check out.

[Daniel Christensen]

A few years ago I heard a Doctor say in a radio documentary that in a 20 year old a broke leg heals in 6 weeks and in a 30 year old, more like 6 months (the actual figures are probably wrong).

Was looking for something in the Steven J Gould, Richard Dawkins mold.