Theoretical Gompertzian implications on life span variability among genotypically identical animals

FOXO in aging: did evolutionary diversification of FOXO function distract it from prolonging life?

In this paper we contrast the simple role of FOXO in the seemingly non-aging Hydra with its more diversified function in multicellular eukaryotes that manifest aging and limited life spans. From this comparison we develop the concept that, whilst once devoted to life-prolonging cell-renewal (in Hydra), evolutionary accumulation of coupled functionality in FOXO has since 'distracted' it from this role. Seen in this light, aging may not be the direct cost of competing functions, such as reproduction or growth, but the result of a shift in emphasis in a protein, which is accompanied by advantages such as greater organismal complexity and adaptability, but also disadvantages such as reduced regeneration capacity. Studying the role of FOXO in non-aging organisms might, therefore, illuminate the path to extend life span in aging organisms.

Computer-simulated assessment of methods of transporting severely injured individuals in disaster--case study of an airport accident

A system utilizing computer simulations was developed in order to compare (1) situations wherein critically wounded individuals are, at first, ranked and classified into subgroups based on criticalness of the wounds, and then be evaluated and re-ordered within the subgroups before transported to hospitals, with (2) those situations in which the conventional method of transport was employed. The objective of the study is to infer whether there is a further possibility for enhancing the possibility of the wounded individual's survival rate at the time of arrival at the hospital. The variables that are required to be entered include the number of patient subgroups, the number of patients in each of the subgroups, the total number of patients to be transported, the time required to assess the severity of each patient, the speed of the ambulance, the interval between the ambulances' arrivals and departures, and the distance between the site at which the transportation begins and the destination or the hospital. Utilizing the same system, a virtual simulation of a large-scale disaster at airport was used as sample data. As a result, it was confirmed that the survival rate would improve under certain conditions, if the values for some of the variables, such as geographic conditions, were altered and then calculated.

Research on ageing in Germany

The present review on ageing research in Germany is biased towards experimental biogerontology, because this is the field which will define the future of ageing research as a whole. In absolute numbers of publications between 1995 and 1999, Germany is comparable to other large European countries. However, Germany ranks definitively last among 10 major developed countries if the numbers of scientific papers per year are seen in relation to the economic capability. This is true for the whole of biomedical research, but it is even more exaggerated for ageing research. There are potent groups in German ageing research capable of producing a good fraction of high-impact papers, however. There are many more researchers in areas highly relevant to gerontology which recently became attracted by gerontological problems. However, the importance of modern biogerontology has not made clear to decision-makers in Germany, so that structural and financial limitations will probably prevent any significant rise in the near future, which would be necessary to keep Germany along with other developed countries.