Aging as Loss of Biological Self-Correction: A Geroscience Framework for Longevity, Inflammaging, and Restored Resilience

Abstract

Longevity science has shifted from the pursuit of lifespan extension toward preservation of healthspan, resilience, and functional independence. The hallmarks of aging provide a powerful descriptive structure, but they do not by themselves specify how diverse molecular defects translate into loss of adaptive function. We propose a complementary conceptual framework in which aging is viewed as progressive impairment of biological self-correction: the distributed capacity to sense consequential perturbations, scale an appropriate response, repair or remove damage, terminate the response, and recover or adaptively re-equilibrate while preserving future functional reserve. This framework is not intended to replace homeostasis, homeodynamics, allostasis, physiological reserve, or resilience; rather, it links these established concepts to the molecular machinery that generates dynamic recovery. Correction fidelity is proposed to be measured independently of the hallmarks using stress-response trajectories, including response latency, magnitude of deviation, recovery slope or half-time, integrated deviation, residual deficit, overshoot, biological cost, final functional state, and preservation of subsequent reserve. Importantly, successful recovery need not mean return to a fixed youthful baseline because aging may also shift the physiological setpoint toward a less favorable but actively defended equilibrium. We integrate evolutionary and biodemographic principles with inflammaging, nutrient sensing, NAD+ biology, senescence, autophagy, partial reprogramming, and resilience research, and propose falsifiable predictions for testing whether dynamic recovery adds information beyond chronological age, frailty, and static aging biomarkers.