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0:00
Biodemography.
I am James Carey,
professor at the University
of California, Davis
and Senior Scholar
at the Center for the Economics
and Demography of Aging
at UC, Berkeley.
0:12
I've organized this lecture
into three broad parts.
First, I'll start with
the Biodemography of lifespan.
I'll talk about concepts,
lifespan and sociality,
and human lifespan evolution.
Then I'll talk about
the population biology
of the elderly
followed by
experimental Biodemography.
0:31
First, I'll set the stage
by defining Biodemography,
this is an area
of interdisciplinary research
in which principles
of both biology and demography
are integrated
and brought to bear on questions
concerned with aging,
reproduction,
and health in humans
but which include
the use of model,
that is non-human
animal systems.
We have to subdivisions,
first, Biological Biodemography,
that's mostly animal research
and that's what I'll discuss
in this lecture.
And secondly,
the Biomedical Biodemography,
that's mostly human research
dealing with healthy aging
and geriatrics-related research.
1:05
Example questions
in biodemographic research
include, what factors select
for extended life span?
Or short lifespan?
Are there specific limits
to lifespan?
Do females outlive males
under all circumstances?
What is the relationship
of healthspan to lifespan?
And how does reproduction
affect longevity?
These are just
some examples of many.
1:28
So let's dive in,
the Biodemography of lifespan,
some concepts.
1:34
We have five basic concepts
dealing with lifespan,
these are conceptual issues.
First, we need to be able
to define in individual,
that is,
a discrete functional entity.
Second,
we need to define the genesis,
that is,
where does lifespan begin,
is it conception?
Would it be fetal stage,
birth which would be typically
where we begin human lifespan,
or adulthood,
which is typically
what we start with insects
rather than the preadults,
the pupae and or an egg,
for example?
The state of existence,
we have normal aging
sort to speak
and we have arrested metabolism,
for example dormancy.
The time of existence,
this would be
the normal period of aging
plus the period of arrest
or dormancy.
And lastly, extinction.
An individual
can go extinct by dying
or it can go extinct
through fission
that is splitting
into two or more
or it go extinct through fusion
that is two or more individuals
fusing into one.
