Wear and Tear
Wear and tear theories of aging suggest that as an individual ages, body parts such as cells and organs wear out from continued use. Wearing of the body can be attributable to internal or external causes that eventually lead to an accumulation of insults which surpasses the capacity for repair. Due to these internal and external insults, cells lose their ability to regenerate, which ultimately leads to mechanical and chemical exhaustion. Some insults include chemicals in the air, food, or smoke. Other insults may be things such as viruses, trauma, free radicals, cross-linking, and high body temperature.
Read more about this topic: Nancy Merz Nordstrom, Biogerontology, Biological Theories of Aging
Famous quotes containing the words wear and, wear and/or tear:
“You should hurry up ... and acquire the cigar habit. It’s one of the major happinesses. And so much more lasting than love, so much less costly in emotional wear and tear.”
—Aldous Huxley (1894–1963)
“I wear my wedding ring
He will cut off your finger
And the blood will linger
Little bird!”
—Allen Tate (1899–1979)
“His form is fixed in my eyes,
his touch in my limbs,
his whispers in my ear,
and his heart is kept in my heart.
So what can Fate tear in two?”
—Hla Stavhana (c. 50 A.D.)