Damage to the repository of genetic information in cells has plagued life since its very
beginning 3–4 billion years ago. Initially, in the absence of an ozone layer, especially …

Age-related accumulation of postzygotic DNA mutations results in tissue genetic
heterogeneity known as somatic mosaicism. Although implicated in aging as early as the …

Genomes are inherently unstable due to the need for DNA sequence variation in the germ
line to fuel evolution through natural selection. In somatic tissues mutations accumulate …

Are DNA damage and mutations possible causes or consequences of aging? This question
has been hotly debated by biogerontologists for decades. The importance of DNA damage …

Aging is the major risk factor for many human cancers. However, the mechanisms
responsible for the effect of aging on tumor incidence are poorly understood, in part because …

DNA mutations as a consequence of errors during DNA damage repair, replication, or
mitosis are the substrate for evolution. In multicellular organisms, mutations can occur in the …

Genetic information is constantly being attacked by intrinsic and extrinsic damaging agents,
such as reactive oxygen species, atmospheric radiation, environmental chemicals, and …

Of all the proposed causes of ageing, DNA damage remains a leading, though still debated
theory. Unlike most other types of age-related cellular damage, which can hypothetically be …

Given the central role of DNA in life, and how ageing can be seen as the gradual and
irreversible breakdown of living systems, the idea that damage to the DNA is the crucial …

Aging is a pleiotropic and stochastic process influenced by both genetics and environment.
As a result the fundamental underlying causes of aging are controversial and likely diverse …