The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette profiles Cynthia Kenyon's work on extending the life span of nematode worms: "Aging doesn't occur simply because parts wear out, but also because our genetic code is programmed to reduce the body's repair work after a certain age. ... Dr. Kenyon showed that tweaking a gene called daf-2 'in just the right way' resulted in extraordinary increases in lifespan. ... adjusting the action of daf-2 in roundworms can extend life even if this tweaking doesn't occur until the worm has reached mid-life. Again, no one can say whether this applies to humans, but it has to be encouraging for anyone facing a mid-life crisis. ... How soon any of this can be translated into a hormone or drug therapy that extends life is not clear."
03
Oct
2005
Profiling Kenyon, Nematode Worms
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First Steps
The Causes of Aging
- Accumulating AGEs
- Buildup of Amyloid Between Cells
- The Failing Adaptive Immune System
- The Failing Innate Immune System
- Declining Lysosomal Function
- Mitochondrial DNA Damage
- Nuclear DNA Damage
- Buildup of Senescent Cells
- Other Causes of Aging
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Required Reading
- Calorie Restriction
- The Community, Visualized
- Cryonics
- Engineered Negligible Senescence
- Envisaging a World Without the FDA
- How to Argue for Longevity Science
- Introductory Articles
- The Odds of Human Longevity Mutations
- The Need For Activism and Advocacy
- Stem Cells, Regenerative Medicine
- Twelve Ways to Extend Mouse Life Span
- Transhumanism and Human Longevity
- The Vital Debate in Aging Research
- What is Anti-Aging?
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