ABSTRACT
Aging is a basic biological process common to all living organisms. Its biochemical mechanisms have yet to be elucidated in detail. Aging is usually understood as an irreversible, progressive loss of homeostatic capacity. By definition, aging affects everyone, but at a variable rate. At present, aging is widely assumed to result partly from a genetically determined program and partly from endogenous and exogenous insults. Both processes occur at the level of individual cells.
