All of us would like to live longer or to slow the debilitating effects of age. Geneticist Coleen Murphy, author of the new book How We Age, illustrates how recent research on longevity and aging may be bringing us closer to this goal. Murphy, a leading scholar of aging, explains that the study of model systems, particularly simple invertebrate animals, combined with breakthroughs in genomic methods, have allowed scientists to probe the molecular mechanisms of longevity and aging. Understanding the fundamental biological rules that govern aging in model systems provides clues about how we might slow human aging, which could lead in turn to new therapeutics and treatments for age-related disease.
Drawing on work in her own lab as well as other recent research, Murphy chronicles the history and current state of the field, explaining longevity’s links to reproduction and mating, sensory and cognitive function, inheritances from our ancestors, and the gut microbiome. Join her as she discusses what we know about aging and what we can do with this new knowledge.
Copies of How We Age (Princeton University Press) are available for purchase.
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