Modelling Perspectives on Aging: Can Mathematics Help us Stay Young?
✍ Scribed by LEAH EDELSTEIN-KESHET; ALIZA ISRAEL; PETER LANSDORP
- Book ID
- 102613517
- Publisher
- Elsevier Science
- Year
- 2001
- Tongue
- English
- Weight
- 338 KB
- Volume
- 213
- Category
- Article
- ISSN
- 0022-5193
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✦ Synopsis
We survey several types of mathematical models that keep track of age distributions in a population, or follow some aspects of aging, such as loss of replicative potential of stem cells. The properties of a class of linear models of this type are discussed and compared. We illustrate the applicability of such models with a simple example based on hypothetical stem cell dynamics developed to address age-related telomere loss in the human granulocyte pool. We then describe the contrasting behaviour of nonlinear systems. Examples are drawn from the class of &&dynamical diseases'' to illustrate some of the aspects of nonlinear systems. Applications of these, and other models to the problems of aging and replicative aging are discussed.