The Biologic Clock: The Mitochondria?

DENHAM HARMAN M.D., Ph.D.,

DENHAM HARMAN M.D., Ph.D.

Departments of Biochemistry and Medicine, University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska

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DENHAM HARMAN M.D., Ph.D.,

DENHAM HARMAN M.D., Ph.D.

Departments of Biochemistry and Medicine, University of Nebraska College of Medicine, Omaha, Nebraska

Search for more papers by this author

First published: April 1972

https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1532-5415.1972.tb00787.x

Citations: 1,497

Professor of Biochemistry and Professor of Medicine.

University of Nebraska College of Medicine, 42nd and Dewey Ave., Omaha, Nebraska 68105.

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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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Volume20, Issue4

April 1972

Pages 145-147

The Biologic Clock: The Mitochondria?

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