Why do we age? Humans have shouted this question at the heavens since the dawn of civilization. Today, thanks to science, we know the answer. It鈥檚 due to a process called cellular senescence. What can we do with that knowledge? What鈥檚 next for aging research? For 黑料吃瓜资源 (CSHL) Assistant Professor Corina Amor Vegas, the answers lie not in skin care and cryogenics, but in improving human health. Amor Vegas spoke about the topic of aging in our latest Cocktails & Chromosomes talk at Industry Bar in Huntington, NY.
鈥淚f you leave this room and you only remember one thing, I want you to remember the difference between healthspan and lifespan,鈥� Amor Vegas said. 鈥淟ifespan is the total number of years that we live. Your healthspan is the number of years that you live in good health.鈥� The goal of CSHL aging research, Amor Vegas explains, is not necessarily to just increase people鈥檚 lifespan, but to increase our healthspan. That could mean reducing occurrences of age-related diseases like cancer and diabetes. In other words, it鈥檚 not about making us live longer鈥攊t鈥檚 about improving our quality of life.
Press play to see some of the latest results from the Amor Vegas lab. And if you鈥檇 like to be in the room for the next installment of Cocktails & Chromosomes, register today. CSHL returns to Industry bar on July 25, with another must-see science talk from Associate Professor Tobias Janowitz.