Cynthia Kenyon, PhD, will present "Turning Back the Clock: Genes, Aging and Disease" at the Mission Bay Branch Library at 6 p.m. on Monday, June 26.
Kenyon's lab at UCSF is studying genes that govern aging in worms, flies, mice and possibly humans. She and her team have increased the life span of
C. elegans, a tiny roundworm, up to six times its normal existence. Working with the roundworm, Kenyon showed that tweaking a gene called daf-2 resulted in extraordinary increases in life span. The roundworms, which typically live for two weeks, have remained active and apparently healthy for 12 weeks and, in a few cases, more than 20 weeks, according to Kenyon, who directs the Hillblom Center for the Biology of Aging at UCSF Mission Bay.
Kenyon will explore the implications of this research on human longevity during this talk, presented by the Friends of the San Francisco Public Library, UCSF and the San Francisco Public Library.
The Mission Bay Branch Library is located at 4th and Berry streets in San Francisco. A reception will follow. Taking public transportation is recommended; the N Judah Muni train stops at the Caltrain/Mission Bay station.
For more information and to reserve limited parking, contact
Marian Chatfield-Taylor at 415/626-7512, ext. 103.
Links:
Scientists Find What Types of Genes Affect Longevity
