Lack of consensus on an aging biology paradigm? A global survey reveals an agreement to disagree, and the need for an interdisciplinary framework

Alan A Cohen; Brian K Kennedy; Ulrich Anglas; Anne M Bronikowski; Joris Deelen; Frédérik Dufour; Gerardo Ferbeyre; Luigi Ferrucci; Claudio Franceschi; Daniela Frasca; Bertrand Friguet; Pierrette Gaudreau; Vadim N Gladyshev; Efstathios S Gonos; Vera Gorbunova; Philipp Gut; Mikhail Ivanchenko; Véronique Legault; Jean-François Lemaître; Thomas Liontis; Guang-Hui Liu; Mingxin Liu; Andrea B Maier; Otávio T Nóbrega; Marcel G.M Olde Rikkert; Graham Pawelec; Sylvie Rheault; Alistair M Senior; Andreas Simm; Sonja Soo; Annika Traa; Svetlana Ukraintseva; Quentin Vanhaelen; Jeremy M Van Raamsdonk; Jacek M Witkowski; Anatoliy I Yashin; Robert Ziman; Tamàs Fülöp

doi:10.1016/j.mad.2020.111316

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Lack of consensus on an aging biology paradigm? A global survey reveals an agreement to disagree, and the need for an interdisciplinary framework

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Lack of consensus on an aging biology paradigm? A global survey reveals an agreement to disagree, and the need for an interdisciplinary framework

Alan A Cohen, Brian K Kennedy, Ulrich Anglas, Anne M Bronikowski, Joris Deelen, Frédérik Dufour, Gerardo Ferbeyre, Luigi Ferrucci, Claudio Franceschi, Daniela Frasca, …

Mechanisms of ageing and development, Vol.191, pp.111316-111316

2020-10

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2020.111316

PMID: 32693105

Abstract

Aging mechanisms

Evolution of aging

Aging interventions

Aging

Aged

Philosophy of science

Biology of aging

Aging paradigm

Epidemiology of aging

•A recent symposium debate highlighted disagreements and confusion in aging biology.•Symposium participants followed up by completing an online survey.•Survey results show little common ground on most questions in aging biology.•However, there is a near-consensus that aging is heterogeneous and multifactorial.•Work is needed to achieve a common paradigm in aging biology. At a recent symposium on aging biology, a debate was held as to whether or not we know what biological aging is. Most of the participants were struck not only by the lack of consensus on this core question, but also on many basic tenets of the field. Accordingly, we undertook a systematic survey of our 71 participants on key questions that were raised during the debate and symposium, eliciting 37 responses. The results confirmed the impression from the symposium: there is marked disagreement on the most fundamental questions in the field, and little consensus on anything other than the heterogeneous nature of aging processes. Areas of major disagreement included what participants viewed as the essence of aging, when it begins, whether aging is programmed or not, whether we currently have a good understanding of aging mechanisms, whether aging is or will be quantifiable, whether aging will be treatable, and whether many non-aging species exist. These disagreements lay bare the urgent need for a more unified and cross-disciplinary paradigm in the biology of aging that will clarify both areas of agreement and disagreement, allowing research to proceed more efficiently. We suggest directions to encourage the emergence of such a paradigm.

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Collaboration types: Industry collaboration; Domestic collaboration; International collaboration
Citation topics: 1 Clinical & Life Sciences; 1.264 Longevity; 1.264.618 Caenorhabditis Elegans
Web Of Science research areas: Cell Biology; Geriatrics & Gerontology
ESI research areas: Molecular Biology & Genetics

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Title: Lack of consensus on an aging biology paradigm? A global survey reveals an agreement to disagree, and the need for an interdisciplinary framework
Creators: Alan A Cohen - Groupe De Recherche PRIMUS, Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12e Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada
Brian K Kennedy - Departments of Biochemistry and Physiology, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, MD 7, 8 Medical Drive, 117596, Singapore
Ulrich Anglas - Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
Anne M Bronikowski - Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Organismal Biology, Iowa State University, Ames, IA, 50011, United States
Joris Deelen - Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, PO Box 41 06 23, 50866, Cologne, Germany
Frédérik Dufour - Groupe De Recherche PRIMUS, Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12e Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada
Gerardo Ferbeyre - Centre De Recherche Du Centre Hospitalier De l'Université De Montréal (CRCHUM), 900 Saint-Denis St, Montréal, QC, H2X 0A9, Canada
Luigi Ferrucci - Translational Gerontology Branch, Longitudinal Studies Section, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, MedStar Harbor Hospital, 3001 S. Hanover Street, Baltimore, MD, 21225, United States
Claudio Franceschi - Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum, University of Bologna, 33 Via Zamboni, Bologna, 40126 BO, Italy
Daniela Frasca - Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1600 NW 10th Ave, Miami, FL, 33136, United States
Bertrand Friguet - Sorbonne Université, CNRS, INSERM, Institut De Biologie Paris-Seine, Biological Adaptation and Aging, B2A-IBPS, F-75005, Paris, France
Pierrette Gaudreau - Centre De Recherche Du Centre Hospitalier De l'Université De Montréal (CRCHUM), 900 Saint-Denis St, Montréal, QC, H2X 0A9, Canada
Vadim N Gladyshev - Division of Genetics, Department of Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital and Harvard Medical School, 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA, 02115, United States
Efstathios S Gonos - Institute of Chemical Biology, National Hellenic Research Foundation, 48 Vassileos Constantinou Ave., Athens, 11635, Greece
Vera Gorbunova - University of Rochester, Department of Biology, Rochester, NY, 14627, United States
Philipp Gut - Nestlé Research, Nestlé Institute of Health Sciences, EPFL Innovation Park, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
Mikhail Ivanchenko - Department of Applied Mathematics, Lobachevsky State University of Nizhny Novgorod, 603950, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia
Véronique Legault - Groupe De Recherche PRIMUS, Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12e Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada
Jean-François Lemaître - Université de Lyon, Université Lyon 1; CNRS, Laboratoire de Biométrie et Biologie Evolutive UMR5558, F-69622 Villeurbanne, France
Thomas Liontis - Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
Guang-Hui Liu - State Key Laboratory of Membrane Biology, Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 1 Beichen West Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing, 100101, China
Mingxin Liu - Groupe De Recherche PRIMUS, Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12e Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada
Andrea B Maier - Department of Medicine and Aged Care, @AgeMelbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital, University of Melbourne, 34-54 Poplar Rd, Parkville, VIC, 3052, Australia
Otávio T Nóbrega - Medical Centre for the Elderly, University Hospital, University of Brasília (UnB), 70910-900, Brasília, DF, Brazil
Marcel G.M Olde Rikkert - Department of Geriatrics, Radboud University Medical Centre, Reinier Postlaan 4, 6525 GC, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Graham Pawelec - Department of Immunology, University of Tübingen, Auf Der Morgenstelle 15, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
Sylvie Rheault - Département De Neurosciences, Université De Montréal, 2960 Chemin De La Tour, Montréal, QC, H3T 1J4, Canada
Alistair M Senior - Charles Perkins Centre, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
Andreas Simm - University Clinic and Outpatient Clinic for Cardiac Surgery, Middle German Heart Centre, University Hospital Halle (Saale), Ernst-Grube Str. 40, D-06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
Sonja Soo - Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
Annika Traa - Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
Svetlana Ukraintseva - Biodemography of Aging Research Unit, Social Science Research Institute, Duke University, 2024W. Main St, Durham, NC, 27705, United States
Quentin Vanhaelen - Insilico Medicine Hong Kong Ltd., 307A, Core Building 1, 1 Science Park East Avenue, Hong Kong Science Park, Pak Shek Kok, Hong Kong
Jeremy M Van Raamsdonk - Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, McGill University, 3801 University Street, Montreal, QC, H3A 2B4, Canada
Jacek M Witkowski - Department of Pathophysiology, Medical University of Gdansk, M. Skłodowskiej-Curie 3a Street, 80-210, Gdańsk, Poland
Anatoliy I Yashin - Biodemography of Aging Research Unit, Social Science Research Institute, Duke University, 2024W. Main St, Durham, NC, 27705, United States
Robert Ziman - Groupe De Recherche PRIMUS, Department of Family Medicine, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12e Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada
Tamàs Fülöp - Department of Medicine, Geriatric Division, University of Sherbrooke, 3001 12 Ave N, Sherbrooke, QC, J1H 5N4, Canada
Publication Details: Mechanisms of ageing and development, Vol.191, pp.111316-111316
Publisher: Elsevier B.V
Academic Unit: Miller School of Medicine; Microbiology and Immunology Research
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
PMID: 32693105
Record Identifier: 991031576813602976