Do Not Go Gently: The Biology of Aging November 16, 2009

Aging poses a fascinating intellectual puzzle. Why does the cellular machinery that works so well early in our lives start to fail as we get older? Different organisms have wildly different lifespans, suggesting that it isn't a simple matter of "wear and tear."

Researchers have learned a lot about the underlying causes of aging. Our stem cells slowly exhaust themselves; our hormones conspire against us; the oxygen we breathe damages our DNA - and this is just a partial list. We're beginning to understand how these many factors are coordinated, but we still have a long way to go.

There's also a practical motivation for studying aging. Chronological age is the greatest risk factor for many life-threatening illnesses: cancers, Alzheimer's, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and others. What is the connection between aging and disease? By studying the fundamental mechanisms of aging, might we learn how to treat all age-related diseases simultaneously? What does this tell us about how we set funding priorities for biomedical research?

Finally: Is significant lifespan extension a realistic possibility - within our lifetimes, or ever? What are the ethical, sociological, and existential issues raised by the prospect of a vastly extended human lifespan?

Chris will be in conversation with our favorite science comedian, Brian Malow (http://www.sciencecomedian.com)

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