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Twenty First Annual Darwin College Lecture Series 2006

SURVIVAL

Lecture 7   :   3 March

SURVIVING LONGER

Cynthia Kenyon

University of California, San Francisco

Biography  |   Abstract   |   Printable Version   |   Podcast Preview

Abstract

Aging has long been assumed to be a passive consequence of molecular wear and tear, counteracted by the force of natural selection. But it's not so simple. Our discoveries have led to the realization that the aging process, like everything else in biology, is under exquisite regulation, in this case, by a complex, multifaceted hormonal system that affects aging in many species, including mammals. In 1993, we showed that changing a single gene in the small roundworm C. elegans can double its lifespan. This gene encodes an insulin/IGF-1 like receptor, which indicates that aging is regulated hormonally. By manipulating genes and cells, we have now been able to extend the lifespan and period of youthfulness of C. elegans by six times. We have found that signals from the reproductive system and sensory neurons influence lifespan. These signals act, at least in part, to control inslin/IGF-1 hormone signaling. These hormones influence the lifespan of the animal by coordinating the expression of a wide variety of subordinate genes, including antioxidant, stress response, antimicrobial, and novel genes, whose activities act in a cumulative fashion to determine the lifespan of the animal. Some of these subordinate genes can also influence the rate of onset of age-related disease. In this way, this hormone system couples the natural aging process to age-related disease susceptibility.

The lectures are given at 5.30 p.m. in The Lady Mitchell Hall, Sidgwick Avenue, with an adjacent overflow theatre with live TV coverage. Each lecture is typically attended by 600 people so you must arrive early to ensure a place.