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GENES & LONGEVITY
Topic In-Depth | Radio
Program | General Resources | Social
Issues | Try These. They're Fun!
Now that a draft of the human genome sequence has been completed, are
we any closer to finding the fabled "Fountain of Youth"? Will
the new genetic sciences extend the human lifespan and improve the health
and vitality of the elderly? So far, while there are many indications,
we can't really answer such questions with any certainty.
Still, as baby boomers reach retirement age, the economic and social
rewards for cracking the puzzle are growing. Some scientists believe we
can live forever; others believe there are limits to our lifespan built
into our genes.
If you are interested in Genes & Longevity, you might also want to
check out Genes & Medicine.
Last updated: February 19, 2005
Topic In-Depth
- Many older folks say it's great to live longer, but it costs a lot
too. And as scientists work on ways to repair a lifetime of damage to
our cells and vital systems, financial experts say the pain of paying
for medical care will only get worse. Read
the article (March 2002).
Radio Progam
General Resources
Online
- Science of
Aging Knowledge Environment (SAGEKE). American Association for the Advancement
of Science (AAAS) and Science
This website offers a wide range of valuable information - articles
on new research, contacts, and organizations. Resources include articles
from the popular press, news sites, disease information, and much more.
- National Institute
on Aging (NIA)
The website of the NIA, the federal agency that supports and disseminates
aging research, features news and resources on subjects which include
menopause, Alzheimers disease and clinical trials.
 Kenyon's Ageless Quest, Smithsonian Magazine, March 2004
Profile of molecular biologist Cynthia Kenyon, who studies aging in worms. Sounds weird, but Kenyon is serious about her wriggling subjects ability to lead us to the elixir of life.
- infoaging.org
This site, brought to you by the American Federation for Aging Research (AFAR), offers consumer-oriented news and basic information on age-associated diseases, and related issues including the biology of aging and research updates. The site is funded by pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer, Inc.
Special Issues of Magazines & Journals
- The
Scientist: Special Issue on Aging Research. The Scientist,
February 5, 2001, Volume 15(3)
This special issue includes an overview of aging research centers, highlights
two scientists' bets on the outer limits of lifespan and features a
section on jobs in aging research. (Free online registration required.)
Scientists and Research
- Don't
Die, Stay Pretty. Wired, January 2000
In this article, author Brian Alexander muses about immortality. It
features the research of many of the scientists heard in The DNA
Files program, "The Genetics
of Aging & Longevity: Search for the Fountain of Youth."
- Roy Walford's website
Roy Walford (6/29/1924 – 4/27/2004) was a pathology professor at the UCLA School of Medicine. A proponent of caloric restriction, his website offers recipes and meal plans. The site also gives you an inside view of his famous biosphere experiments.
- M.I.T. professor Leonard Guarente studies aging in yeast.
Guarente's website provides access to many of his key papers on aging. Also check out the site of Elixir Pharmaceuticals, a project of Guarente and Cynthia Kenyon.
- Extension
of lifespan by introduction of telomerase into normal human cells.
Science, January 16, 1998, Volume 279(5349):349-352
A key article on telomeres, the structures at the tips of chromosomes
which some scientists suggest might hold the secret to the cause or
cure of aging, from researchers at Geron Corporation and the University
of Texas.
-
Telomerase and the aging cell: Implications for human health. Journal
of the American Medical Association, June 3, 1998, Volume 279(212):1732-5
Books
- The Biology of Death: Origins of Mortality by Andre Klarsfeld and Frederic Revah. Cornell University Press, 2004
A fascinating and accessible book examining recent genetic discoveries and surmising that aging and death may not be inevitable.
- Ageless Quest: One Scientist's Search for Genes that Prolong Youth by Lenny Guarente. Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, 2003
A scientist's personal story about aging research. Among other mysteries, discover why this prominent researcher is fascinated with yeast.
- Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the Dream of Human Life Extension by Stephen S. Hall. Houghton Mifflin, 2003
An accessible review of historic and current research on aging: the science, the politics and the personalities.
- The Quest for Immortality: Science at the Frontiers of Aging by S. J. Olshansky and Bruce A. Carnes. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2001
Noted longevity researchers look at the public policy implications of an aging population.
- Why We Age: What Science is Discovering about the Body's Journey
Through Life by Steven N. Austad. John Wiley, 1997
Focusing on the aging effects of oxidation, Steven Austad argues that
we basically rust away — and that we do so inevitably, since evolution
doesn't need us after prime reproductive age.
- Evolutionary Biology of Aging by Michael R. Rose. New
York: Oxford University Press, 1991
The biology of aging from an evolutionary perspective. His research
with flies convinced Michael Rose of the power of natural selection
on both longevity and decline.
- Chance, Development, and Aging by Caleb E. Finch and
Thomas B.L. Kirkwood. New York: Oxford University Press, 2000
The authors argue that there is no death gene. Rather, individual variations
in aging and longevity are due to chance variations during development.
- Aging: a Natural History by Robert E. Ricklefs and
Caleb E. Finch. New York: Scientific American Library: Distributed by
W.H. Freeman, 1995
This text includes an explanation of why some species live longer than
others, and why some individuals age more quickly than others.
- Time of Our Lives: The Science of Human Aging by Tom
Kirkwood. Oxford University Press, 2000
A review of current research in aging and longevity, as well as a discussion
of the social and cultural implications of increased lifespan.
Social Issues
-
Happy 120th Birthday!
Will Grandma live to be 120? The Society of Actuaries and the American Association of Actuaries think she might, and the National Association of Insurance Commissioners is taking the bet. The Houston Chronicle reports.
-
Health care for the elderly: How much? Who will pay for it? Health Affairs, January/February 1999, pages 11-21
- Anti-Aging Medicine: The Hype and the Reality, Part I (index), Journal of Gerontology: Biological Sciences, Volume 59A (6): 513-514 (June, 2004); Part II (index), Volume 59A (7): 649-651 (July, 2004)
Prominent researchers S. Jay Olshansky, Leonard Hayflick and Thomas T. Perls authored a two-part survey and review of anti-aging medicine in special issues of the Journal of Gerontology. Introductions are available (as PDFs) on the site of the Boston University Medical Campus, New England Centenarian Study.
Try These. They're Fun!
- Telomerase!.
State University of New York at Plattsburgh
Donald Slish's online demonstration of telomerase activity.
- Northwestern
Mutual Longevity Game
Take this interactive lifestyle and health awareness quiz to get general
idea of how long you'll live after retirement.
Listen to John Hockenberry taking
this quiz.
- BBC
Radio4 Series, The End of Age
The Reith Lectures, 2001. Topics include: Brave Old World, Thread of
Life and Sex and Death. Read scripts, hear audio clips. Tom Kirkwood,
the host, is author of Time of Our Lives: The Science of Human
Aging.
- Raelian website
The Raelians bill themselves as the world's largest ufo-related nonprofit
organization. According to their belief, scientists from another planet
created all life on earth using DNA. And they believe in immortality.
Available to order on their site is Yes to Human Cloning: Eternal
Life Thanks to Science by their leader, Rael.
- Buddha's Nature: A Practical Guide to Discovering Your Place
in the Cosmos by Wes Nisker. New York: Bantam Books, 1998, 2000
The karma of evolution. Death, disease and old age explained by the
revelations of genetic science and the buddha.
- Holy Fire by Bruce Sterling. New York : Bantam Books,
1996, 1997
A science fiction novel set in a future society where the benefits of
anti-aging technology are available only to people who live healthy,
responsible, safe lives.
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