The Biologic Clock: The Mitochondria?

1972/04/01 by DENHAM HARMAN, Denham Harman · 1,982 citations
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology · Medicine · #Biochemistry #Biology #Birth, Development, and Health #Cell biology #Gene #Genetics, Aging, and Longevity in Model Organisms #Gerontology #Internal medicine #Life span #Medicine #Mitochondrial DNA #Mitochondrial Function and Pathology #Mitochondrion #Mortality rate #Oxygen

paper · doi:10.1111/j.1532-5415.1972.tb00787.x

published in Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 20(4), 145-147 (Wiley)

openalex publication_date 1972/04/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/25

Abstract

ABSTRACT: The author suggests that the maximal life span of a given mammalian species is largely an expression of genetic control over the rate of oxygen utilization. The latter determines the rate of accumulation of mitochondrial damage produced by free radical reactions, the rate increasing with the rate of oxygen consumption, which ultimately causes death.

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