Synonyms
Definition
Senescence is a multifactorial, deleterious, progressive, and cumulative alteration of cells and somatic structures that occurs in an age-related, but not age-determined, fashion, thereby decreasing individual probabilities of survival and reproduction with increasing age.
Senescence is a soma-wide process of functional losses secondary to decreased replicative capacity in dividing cells and accumulated exposures to stressors and related damage in both dividing and nondividing cells as their time of survival increases. Senescent biology progresses as age-related declines in cellular, tissue, and organ fidelity and function lead to decreased reproductive potential, physiological and psychological dysregulation, and increased probability of death.
Introduction
Currently, across multiple populations, average life spans exceed 80 years (e.g., Italy, Japan, Sweden, women in the USA), and the verified maximum human life span has exceeded 121...
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Crews, D.E. (2019). Senescence. In: Shackelford, T., Weekes-Shackelford, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Evolutionary Psychological Science. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2356-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-16999-6_2356-1
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