Ageless: The New Science of Getting Older Without Getting Old

Steele, a physicist and computational biologist who is now a science writer, is passionate about learning about aging and how to stop the diseases we associate with aging. In this debut, Steele suggests that there would be less heart disease, cancer, and dementia if we were able to stop cells from aging. He believes that if we view aging as a disease to be cured, and increase funding for biogerontology research, there is potential to allow people to live healthier, longer lives. Steele succeeds in bringing some of the ethical and policy issues surrounding the field of biogerontology, a subfield of gerontology concerned with the biological aging process, into this thorough, yet accessible narrative. While the book is an interesting overview of the history and current state of aging research in various organisms, the advice to delay aging is similar to what health professionals have been telling patients for years: make sure to exercise regularly and get seven to eight hours of sleep as well as wear sunscreen and avoid smoking.