Energy and Life

We hear a good deal these days about the breakthrough promises of human genome research. But little media attention is given to evolutionary medicine, an exciting field that could prove as revolutionary to human health as DNA research. Evolutionary medicine concentrates on tiny organelles in every cell called mitochondria, the biochemical power packs that supply 90 percent of the energy we and most other creatures live on.In this important book, pioneering researcher Douglas C. Wallace and veteran science writer Robert Cooke introduce this new approach to medicine. The key finding emerging from Dr. Wallace's research is the understanding that declining energy availability due to the breakdown of the mitochondria underlies the very process of aging. It is largely responsible for the age-related disorders that include Alzheimer's disease, Parkinsonism, diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.In a fascinating and lively narrative, easily accessible to the lay reader, the authors explain the evolutionary origins of this mitochondrial energy system, the result of a single symbiotic relationship that took place two billion years ago. The latest research shows how mitochondria fail--by producing their own poisons--and how the body tries to guard against such failure.Even more significant is the fact that medical scientists are finally learning how to slow down or even reverse mitochondrial damage. The hope is that new drugs, now being developed, may lead to better treatments for a host of diseases associated with aging and may even extend average life span.