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LiveScience
LiveScience
Mindy Weisberger

Aging: What happens to the body as it gets older?

Alamy Jeanne Calment Disease
The hands of a young and old woman touch.
Quick facts about aging

Cause of aging: Damage to cells in the body that makes them worse at their functions

Start of aging: Some say it starts before birth, when the first cells of an embryo start to develop

Speed of aging: Varies between different people and across each person's lifetime

Aging is the process of getting older. In biology, aging refers to how, over time, the cells in our bodies wear out or get damaged. They no longer work as well as they used to.

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