Milk yield per cow has more than doubled in the previous 40 years and many cows now produce more than 20,000 kg of milk per lactation. The increase in production should be viewed with concern because: i) the increase in milk yield has been accompanied by declining fertility, increasing leg and metabolic problems and declining longevity; ii) there are unfavourable genetic correlations between mi...

\ medca is grajTiig. The XJLsigns are unmistakable, and they are ever\'where. Even our compulsively youth-driven culture is coming to terms widi diis new reality. The "older demographic" is squarely in the sights of policy makers, advertisers, and die media. Pharmaceudcal companies bombard us with endless claims about the benefits of podons for erecdle d\'sfi-iJicTion, arthridc pain, and diabet...

The tendency for flower longevity to increase with altitude is believed by many alpine ecologists to play an important role in compensating for low pollination rates at high altitudes due to cold and variable weather conditions. However, current studies documenting an altitudinal increase in flower longevity in the alpine habitat derive principally from studies on open-pollinated flowers where ...

Complete longevity data are available too late for most sire selection. Earlier selection is possible using correlated traits, nonlinear evaluation of censored data, or predicted longevities for live cows in addition to completed longevity data. Completed longevity was defined as total months in milk by 84 mo of age. Predicted longevity was computed by multiple regression from cows alive at six...

Statistical power is one of the major concerns in genetic association studies. Related individuals such as twins are valuable samples for genetic studies because of their genetic relatedness. Phenotype similarity in twin pairs provides evidence of genetic control over the phenotype variation in a population. The genetic association study on human longevity, a complex trait that is under control...

BACKGROUND Objective measures of loneliness and poor social contacts are associated with negative health outcomes. However, the influence of subjective loneliness among elderly persons is poorly documented. We hypothesized that loneliness among persons aged 70-90 years is associated with subsequent decline in health, function, and longevity. METHODS Mortality data for subjects aged 70-90 year...

In the OECD, women, on average, live 6 years longer than men. This paper studies the female to male longevity gap in di¤erent social settings. Based on the concept of the value of life, it derives the gender gap in longevity among singles, utilitarian and altruistic couples, resp., and analyses the e¤ect of wealth on longevity. The following hypotheses are derived: i) the gender longevity gap i...

SIR—A Korean supreme patriarch died a natural death at 81 years. An author died aged 27 years. Does longevity vary with occupation? We have studied longevity in different occupations in Korea by examining obituary notices in newspapers. We classified socially prominent occupations into 11 groups and investigated 2,143 cases. Because of small numbers, we excluded soldiers, doctors and policemen....

The genetics of aging has made substantial strides in the past decade. This progress has been confined primarily to model organisms, such as filamentous fungi, yeast, nematodes, fruit flies, and mice, in which some thirty-five genes that determine life span have been cloned. These genes encode a wide array of cellular functions, indicating that there must be multiple mechanisms of aging. Nevert...