Mechanics of population aging and survival

Biogerontology
T Eakin, Tarynn M Witten

Abstract

In this paper we extend the previous work of Witten and her team on defining a classical physics-driven model of survival in aging populations (Eakin, Bull Math Biol 56(6):1121-1141, 1994; Eakin and Witten, Mech Aging Dev 78(2):85-101, 1995; Witten and Eakin, Exp Gerontol 32(2):259-285, 1997) by revisiting the concept of a force of aging and introducing the concepts of a momentum of aging, a kinetic energy and a potential energy of an aging population. We further extend the analysis beyond the deterministic Newtonian mechanics of a macroscopic population as a whole by considering the probabilistic nature of survival of individual population cohort members, thus producing new statistical physics-based concepts of entropy and of a gerontological "temperature". These new concepts are then illustrated with application to the classic parametric Gompertz survival model, which is a commonly used empirical descriptor for survival dynamics of mammalian species, human populations in particular. As a function of chronological age the Gompertz Model force, momentum, and power are seen to have an asymmetric unimodal peak profile, while the potential energy has a descending sigmoidal profile similar to that of the survival fraction. The "tem...Continue Reading

References

Dec 1, 1974·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·L Demetrius
Apr 1, 1982·Mechanisms of Ageing and Development·S Doubal
Mar 1, 1995·Mechanisms of Ageing and Development·T Eakin, M Witten
May 1, 1995·The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences·R Shouman, M Witten
Jul 27, 2001·The Journal of the Royal Society for the Promotion of Health·D R NairD P Mikhailidis
May 30, 2006·Biogerontology·Bruce A CarnesJacob S Siegel

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