Molecular mechanisms underlying ageing and the environment–genetics interplay

Elucidate the molecular mechanisms responsible for the accumulation of random-like, deleterious events during ageing and ascertain the nature of the interplay between environmental factors and genetic factors in producing these age-related changes.

Background

The paper advances a hypothesis that ageing, at least in part, reflects the cumulative effect of evolutionary ‘experiments’ manifested as pseudorandom, deleterious events later in life. While the macroscopic pattern is described—ageing as the buildup of random-like detrimental changes—the authors note that the specific molecular underpinnings are not yet resolved.

In particular, the division of causal influence between environmental damage and genetically programmed processes is highlighted as uncertain. Clarifying this division and the mechanisms linking them is essential to evaluate the proposed theory and to relate it to observed age-related cellular and tissue changes.