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Living ever longer: the great shake-up of our time

Wed, 30 January 2008

Life expectancy in the UK is increasing by 5 hours each day. This ‘quiet revolution’ is going to have impacts on society as big as globalisation and climate change, but is less appreciated. Exciting advances in scientific understanding of the ageing process tell us why and how we age, whether the increase in lifespan is likely to continue, and how we might harness insights from science to help citizens of today and tomorrow get the most from their longer lives.

Tom Kirkwood explored these issues in the Nuffield Foundation Lecture at the 2008 ASE Science Conference in Liverpool.

Tom Kirkwood is Professor of Medicine, Director of the Institute for Ageing and Health at the University of Newcastle, and Director of the BBSRC Centre for Integrated Systems Biology of Ageing and Nutrition. His research is focused on the basic science of ageing and on understanding how genes as well as non-genetic factors, such as nutrition, influence longevity and health in old age.

Download the slides from his lecture here and find out more about his research here

Last Updated Wed, 30 January 2008