Report From Wonderfest

Fight Aging!

Do you want to live a longer life in good health? Simple practices can make some difference, such as exercise or calorie restriction. But over the long haul all that really matters is progress in medicine: building new classes of therapy to repair and reverse the known root causes of aging. The sooner these treatments arrive, the more lives will be saved. Find out how to help »

The Stanford Wonderfest was held recently, and the prospects for extending healthy life span were discussed: "'There is a lot of evidence that maximum lifespan can be extended,' said Thomas Rando, associate professor of neurology and neurological sciences at Stanford, noting that the increase in life expectancy over the last few centuries gives reason to remain hopeful. 'Historically, there has been a huge change in how long we live.' ... Rando, who investigates the regenerative properties of muscle stem cells, predicted that stem cell research would likely have a greater impact on health than longevity. 'People think that stem cells can help us live to 150 or 200. But I am more convinced that the whole value of stem cells will be to help us age healthier than make us live longer.'" As Judith Campisi points out in the article, we're going to have to beat cancer if we want to benefit from all the other bioscience that could extend our lives.

Link: http://news-service.stanford.edu/news/2006/november8/fest-110806.html