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CATEGORIES:Ageing Research
SUMMARY:Ageing: What is it? Clues from C. elegans  - Prof.
  David Gems\, Deputy Director of The Institute of 
 Healthy Ageing\, University College London
DTSTART;TZID=Europe/London:20140701T130000
DTEND;TZID=Europe/London:20140701T143000
UID:TALK53251AThttp://talks.cam.ac.uk
URL:http://talks.cam.ac.uk/talk/index/53251
DESCRIPTION:The Institute of Healthy Ageing:\nThe UCL Institut
 e of Healthy Ageing is a world class centre of exc
 ellence for research on the biology of ageing and 
 ageing-related diseases. \nTheir primary purpose i
 s to bring together researchers working on the bio
 logy of ageing (biogerontology) with those working
  to understand the causes of ageing-related diseas
 e. By merging the two\, they aim to develop a new 
 translational biogerontology using the ageing proc
 ess as a point of intervention to protect against 
 the diseases of old age. \n“Our goal is to improve
  the health and quality of life for older people.”
 \n\nResearch Focus:\nUnderstanding the biology of 
 longevity and ageing using a nematode model While 
 developmental genetics has been an area of intensi
 ve study for many years\, investigation of the rol
 e of genes in determining longevity and ageing onl
 y recently began. An ideal model organism in which
  to study ageing is the free-living nematode Caeno
 rhabditis elegans. This species has well-developed
  genetics\, its 97\,000\,000 base pair genome is f
 ully sequenced\, and its life span is a mere 2-3 w
 eeks. Most importantly\, numerous mutations have b
 een identified in C. elegans which alter the rate 
 of ageing\, with some mutants living more than ten
  times as long as wild-type worms. It is hoped tha
 t by understanding ageing in a simple animal like 
 C. elegans we will be able to unravel the mystery 
 of human ageing\, which increases risk of a wide r
 ange of diseases\, from cardiovascular disease and
  type II diabetes\, to Alzheimer's disease and can
 cer. A major focus of current work in this laborat
 ory is understanding the genes and biochemical pro
 cesses by which reduced insulin/IGF-1 signalling a
 nd dietary restriction increase lifespan. Other in
 terests include sex differences in the biology of 
 ageing\, evolutionary conservation of mechanisms o
 f ageing\, and bioethical implications of ageing r
 esearch. Our work is funded by the BBSRC\, the Eur
 opean Union and the Wellcome Trust. *Courtesy of U
 CL*\n\nCurrent Research Themes:\n● Cell signalling
 \n● Genetics of ageing and age-related disease in 
 Caenorhabditis elegans\n● Mechanisms regulating ly
 mphocyte differentiation i\n● Regulation and targe
 ting of the hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) pathway
 \n● The central nervous system regulation of energ
 y homeostasis\n
LOCATION:The Babraham Institute Conference Centre
CONTACT:
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