There are dozens of scientific theories about aging and challenges to all of them. That's why there's a big conference on the biology of aging happening in Kansas City Sept 26 to 29. Tom Squier, associate professor of molecular biosciences at the University of Kansas, and several of his KU colleagues will be there. The story goes like this. Our cells have little engines inside them called mitochondria.
Oxygen fuels the engines.
As oxygen is broken down, poisonous free radicals accumulate in the cell. Through the days of our lives, free radicals slowly attack the mitochondrial machinery. Free radicals also mess with the cell's DNA and proteins. As a result, the cells lose their ability to control the movement of calcium within their own walls, leading to poor muscle function in old age. The cells also can't keep potassium out anymore.