¶Previously, people saw aging as a linear accumulation of damage to molecules such as proteins and DNA. But we found that aging is not a linear process. It’s more like a developmental process, in which there are distinct stages that involve coordinated changes in specific cell types across different organs. Our claim is that aging is not so much molecular damage as a remodeling of the entire cell society.

¶We tend to view aging as a breakdown of sorts, things not working as well as they did earlier in life. And that’s true on a macro level. Knees and other joints aren’t as accommodating, muscles are weaker, balance fades. On a cellular level, though, aging appears to be more of a step-wise movement through stages of an ongoing process that is hard-wired into our DNA. It reminds me a bit of cell death by apoptosis. Cell death by apoptosis is not the result of a breakdown (or direct trauma), but rather the result of an orderly, even programmed, process. This work seems to extend that from single cells to “cell societies”.

¶Can we alter or even stop the process? If so, at which stage, and what consequences would that bring? Interesting questions to think about.

¶The Massachusetts Council (Maine was part of Massachusetts until 1820) ordered that the Declaration would be read aloud and then delivered to each town clerk. The clerks were then instructed to record it in the town’s official records book.

¶“The Wells Town Record Book contains both the Declaration and those original instructions, which is an incredible connection to one of the most significant moments in American history! The record has been preserved in the Town Clerk’s archives 250 years after it was originally written as an incredible piece of Wells’ history,” the town wrote in a Facebook post.

¶This is incredible to think about. I wonder what thoughts were running through the mind of this particular Town Clerk as they wrote the text of the Declaration into the records. It likely took awhile, writing it by hand, so they surely had plenty of time to think about the words and their meaning. Did they take it seriously? Did they appreciate the significance of it, or dismiss it as crazy talk? Or did they just want to finish the work and head home for the day?