Abstract
AbstractAn integrated theory of aging is proposed which consists of an interrelated grouping of other current theories. Each of these has had some success in explaining various separate phenomena of aging, but none has provided an explanation of all the phenomena associated with aging and death. The theories considered are: 1) cross‐linkage, 2) free‐radical, 3) collagen, 4) waste‐product, 5) rate‐of‐living, 6) stress, 7) diffusion, 8) mutation, 9) immunologic, and 10) cybernetic. The cybernetic theory is used as the framework within which the other theories serve as functional blocks, the key functional block being the cross‐linkage theory. Within the cybernetic framework, the various theories are aligned in two modes—the non‐genetic, and the genetic. The non‐genetic mode governs the organism's level of molecular efficiency, whereas the genetic mode governs the minimal level of molecular efficiency required for survival of the organism.The integrated theory of aging appears to answer satisfactorily the objections to the individual theories, and to offer a basis for fairly accurate theoretical prediction of the experimentally observed mortality curve.
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