For its September 2016 issue, Scientific American released a special edition highlighting 9 key questions about the future for humanity. Two of these questions—“Will We Defeat Aging?” and “If We Could, Would We Want to Live Forever?” explored the science of aging research and featured a range of AFAR affiliated experts.
In “Will We Defeat Aging?” , the publication has selected several AFAR experts’ work among its biggest scientific findings and projects in aging research:
• The Dog Aging Project, spearheaded by Matt Kaeberlein, PhD (2006 AFAR Research Grant for Junior Faculty and 2007 Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award) and Daniel Promislow, PhD (1996 AFAR Research Grant for Junior Faculty and 2010 Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award)
• The TAME (Targeting Aging Through Metformin) Trial ed by Deputy Scientific Director Nir Barzilai, MD (1994 AFAR Research Grant for Junior Faculty and 1997 Beeson Scholar) and Board Member James Kirkland, MD, PhD (2012 Glenn/AFAR Breakthroughs in Gerontology Award)
• Caloric Restriction research, as advanced by Valter Longo, PhD (1998 AFAR Research Grant for Junior Faculty awardee and 2013 recipient of the Vincent Cristofalo Rising Star Award in Aging Research) research into caloric restriction.
• In addition to insights from these experts, the article also included comments from Board Member and leading demographer, S. Jay Olshansky, PhD.
The article “If We Could, Would We Want to Live Forever?”examines the ethics and feasibility of radical life extension. 2000 Beeson Scholar Reisa Sperling, MD, shared insight into future interventions and therapies for Alzheimer ’s disease feeding into the discussion about science’s ability to help people maintain quality of life as they age.
A sample of the feature can be viewed online here. For the full articles pick up a copy of Scientific American on newsstands now.
