datum: 25.10.2021

The current issue brings an extensive article on the biology of ageing. In the field of biological gerontology modern genetic knowledge about ageing has been developing rapidly. In this context, epigenetics brings important insights about the influences of healthy or pathologic realization of the genetic program inside the human cells. Among other factors, it is a lifestyle that gradually co-shapes the genetic life of cells over the years and co-determines how healthy cells divide, if sick cells die and how they interact with each other in the immunological sense; otherwise their vitality declines and the older person succumbs to chronic diseases. Susceptibility to cancer, vascular diseases and diabetes is highly associated with long-term epigenetic effects. Epigenetic insights are a bridge between the inherited biological structure of people and their conscious orientation of their own lifestyle in a given situation and environment. Epigenetics is a valuable scientific contribution to the design of healthy ageing programs and to the treatment of chronic diseases, which are the most common barriers for quality ageing. Certain articles in this journal also match these epigenetic findings, e.g. research on the opinion of centenarians regarding their longevity and a case study on the quality ageing of the author's mother-in-law, who survived in very difficult conditions.

By publishing this biological article, we fill a gap in our journal which focuses on various interdisciplinary aspects of gerontology; by now most of the articles focused on psycho-social aspects. We are aware that gerontology can only be successful if it brings together psycho-social, biological, economic, environmental and other knowledge about human lifelong development and ageing. In fact, biological knowledge remains largely within the circle of biologists, physicians and pharmacists, while psycho-social aspects are fragmented into a multitude of sociological, psychological, psycho-therapeutic, ethnographic, economic, social fields, and other social science theories and orientations. For decades, when the share of the older population will prevail in our communities, we need an integrated gerontological anthropology that connects all modern knowledge and experience of human cultures into a single whole in such a way that it is accessible to all professions and anyone who wants to learn about development in old age, for personal quality ageing and for understanding and helping others.