On the intergenerational transfer of ideas in aging and cancer research: from the hypothalamus according to V.M. Dilman to the mTOR protein complex according to M.V. Blagosklonny

Here, conceptual similarities between Mikhail Blagosklonny's hyperfunction theory of aging and Vladimir Dilman's elevation theory of aging are considered. Taken into account are the genealogical relations between the two eminent gerontologists, the commonality of their educational backgrounds, and my own experience of being affiliated with Dilman's laboratory in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Based on this, I suggest some general considerations concerning the similarities and differences between the two men in their approach to understanding aging and longevity. Dilman's scientific legacy is not as well recognized as it should be, partly due to bias in citation practices. The latter has become increasingly prevalent, partly because the enormously swelled body of literature on aging obscures much of what was pioneered decades ago.