Cynthia Kenyon: Experiments that hint of longer lives

www.ted.com What controls aging? Biochemist Cynthia Kenyon has found a simple genetic mutation that can double the lifespan of a simple worm, C. Elegans. The lessons from that discovery, and others, are pointing to how we might one day significantly extend youthful human life.
TEDTalks is a daily video podcast of the best talks and performances from the TED Conference, where the world's leading thinkers and doers give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes. Featured speakers have included Al Gore on climate change, Philippe Starck on design, Jill Bolte Taylor on observing her own stroke, Nicholas Negroponte on One Laptop per Child, Jane Goodall on chimpanzees, Bill Gates on malaria and mosquitoes, Pattie Maes on the "Sixth Sense" wearable tech, and "Lost" producer JJ Abrams on the allure of mystery. TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design, and TEDTalks cover these topics as well as science, business, development and the arts. Closed captions and translated subtitles in a variety of languages are now available on TED.com, at www.ted.com/translate.

[@alphacause]

What Dr. Kenyon doesn’t mention is that there is a non-pharmaceutical way to induce slower aging, and that is through the mitigation of insulin production and insulin like growth factor (IGF-1). This is done through significant caloric restriction, which can be cumbersome because it involves hunger. But another, less arduous way to do this is through carbohydrate restriction (i.e. low carb/low sugar diets). Dr. Kenyon does this herself, as it says in the Wikipedia article about her.

[@NolimitZ81]

@Prolite Something I've tried getting across to friends/family is that I often see how people have wonderful messages to get across, but often go ignored because their vocabulary is limited, or the person may be rough around the edges. The key, sometimes, is not to focus on how something is being said, but what the message is.

[@Candicedickinsonllc]

I studying this at Princeton this summer!!! So excited :) foxo/ daf16 rocks!!!

[@dsandi100]

This goes to my favorites definitly.

[@curiousbit9228]

well, an Appropriate question now to ask is why does the organism live to only twice the normal lifespan? why not thrice or longer?

[@alphacause]

@Prolite (continued from last response) I would also emphasize that between vegetables and fruit, I would emphasize vegetables, because there is less sugar in them, and a higher ratio of fiber to non-fibrous carbs, which is important in blood sugar regulation, which in turn effects insulin and IGF-1, the promoters of cellular aging. Again there is no need to rely on grains, because any nutrient found in grains is found in greater abundance in vegetables

[@sallycha7952]

Amazing study!!!

[@squamish4244]

Cynthia Kenyon is now working for Google's Calico longevity start-up, along with other researchers at the very top of this field. Even if it takes 20 years to produce something truly revolutionary, it means that when I'm 55 I might find myself regaining all the years between now and then, which is a stunning thought.

[@woodfamily5229]

I'd be 57, let's hope for the best!

[@squamish4244]

Derrick GW If not I will be the terror of the adult living centre on my scooter when I'm 93.

[@woodfamily5229]

valar Sounds like a fun way to go out!

[@shinseiki2015]

Agreed, it will eventually happen in our life time but let's make it happen sooner, join the Healthspan Hub advocacy live chat (discord.gg/ftSbffu) if you want to make a difference in this field or if you just curious, advocacy is one of the main key, we need to unite our forces and push the public and governments opinion !

[@lMP5602]

Why wait? There are discoveries out now on how to boost the logevity gene Foxo-3 naturally without scientific manipulation.

[@aceleste08]

I admire this women , remarkable scientist

[@conillusionist]

this is the best vid on ted talk for me

[@freesk8]

Cynthia, how old are you? "Oh, I just turned 93, why?"

[@sonicase]

i heard about this a few years ago in my senior molecular biology class

[@medula575]

this talk was great

[@maggru91]

20 years right now. Hope they make big progress in this. Living +150 years would be sweet.

[@thepianoaddict]

I'd love to be 200 years old.. as long as I can retire when I'm 70.

[@conillusionist]

this will be awesome!

[@medman36]

An interesting theory, and certainly exitement for science. Talking about insulin and IGF we can already see more simpler interventions of a longer youth. Diabetes is a well known societal and chronic disease. Whereas no intervention would certainly decrease the diabetics life span, such simple medical interventions as dieteray and medication stressors could also be seen as modes of life expeansion the maintenace of youth and vigility. This pops to mind. Any truth in this?

[@peek-ka-boom6017]

At 11:44, she mentioned ANOTHER nutrient sensor called TOR. Ain't TOR the same with the DAF-2 receptor a.k.a mTOR? What's the difference between mTOR and TOR?

[@notreveh]

I work with C. elegans in experiments involving longevity, every single day. Indeed a beautiful organism to work with.

[@britnybboxall6816]

I don’t know if you will see this, but do you know what dietary choices can effect ageing negatively? Like make you age quicker?

[@notreveh]

@@britnybboxall6816 I don't work with c. Elegans anymore, but you should def stay away from fried, smoked and processed food as much as you want. Now I do work with another model organism: fruit flies, in the context of life extension! Long story short: google about sirtuins, david Sinclair, resveratrol and NAD+ supplements.

[@britnybboxall6816]

Heverton Dutra oh! Thank you I will :)

[@cndraycott]

Great ideas.

[@Seannyskillz]

very important study for space exploration.

[@petitelune93]

but what happens if someone has got serious wounds: would'nt the body need a much longer time to heal because the organism is slowed down? or isn't the system of wound-healing infected by the slow-down of the cell-renewing-system?

[@shanebrain2009]

I totally didn't get her analogy about the dog :P But definitely an interesting talk.

[@Tethloach1]

@Shaunt1 yes it is great when we slow down aging and upgrade / improve our bodies we can than live long healthy happy lives

[@youfox415]

Maybe it causes the organism to use (and therefore require) more energy?

[@NickCombs]

@youfox415 My hypothesis is that it has something to do with the rate of evolution a species is expected to need. A shorter lifespan means more opportunities for mutations and therefore more opportunities to adapt to changing circumstances. If we humans were to conquer our own aging, we would have little need for this system, as we are plenty capable of adapting through our study of the sciences.

[@eduardoachach4099]

I asume you mean at 11:45 (since she doesn't say 'there' at all at 1:45), moment at which she says ´there is´.

[@KungFuPandaSama]

The repercussions on an organisms metabolism and growth are serious concerns. Sure damaging the DAF-2 gene extends lifespan but it's a double edged sword on the organism's overall health.

[@KungFuPandaSama]

I'm aware. I was pointing out a consequence and suggesting we tread with caution--just as she does.

[@KeeganIdler]

@shintsu01 Its off topic from the video, but if recycling saved resources businesses would pay you to do it (the way they do with glass bottles in other countries). I'd agree with you on the environmental issue, but I suspect that what you want is a pollution limit rather than a pollution tax, with the resulting difference being that there is no continued incentive for improvement through limits. The reason government won't do it is because the people don't want it.

[@sweYoda2]

Sounds like the movie "In Time".

[@gasdive]

Seeing as this is related to insulin that seems to give some process to the way the calorie restricted diet works.

[@Shaunt1]

@Kastner86 YES, and why stop there? I want to have total control over how long I live and how healthy I am.

[@deathchronic]

very informative. would be interesting to see if this receptor activates any mitochondrial genes

[@SAROOONA77]

I really love that , good job Cynthia Anyways Does that mean "the more you eat the more you will age & the less you eat the more you will be youth?" Correct me if I'm wrong

[@devashreekisnadwala7171]

No, you are not wrong at all, fellow human!

[@pinochska]

@Kirbynessness dude i was waiting for the graphics and LMFAO

[@Razzfazz87]

When I was a kid, I wanted to be an adult. When I was a teenager, I wanted to be an adult. When I started to be an adult, I wanted to be an adult. When I finally was an adult, I wanted to be a kid again. When I decided to be a kid again, the adults wanted this strange 24 year old kid to act his age. When I acted my age, I really didn't enjoy myself. When I reflected on all this I realised, that I really don't want to be any age at all. Would this therapy help me? No but I might help you

[@Tethloach1]

@classictvguy1 as long as you don't get too sick or even sick or wear or tare down too much you can live a really long time. I use to excersie a lot but now not so much i just take it easy and im pretty healthy.

[@carefulcarpenter]

"We came here for a lesson in the spirit living a human experience; We learn and then we die of the body; We came to spend our spiritual inheritance; We are already the eternal being; True wealth transcends the ages" ~~cc

[@ScorpiaX]

m(artificial value) caused by currency as a medium, with p-conditions stating s-statuses more favourable for us to live with higher q(quality of life). I argue that its from human nature/innate predisposition to systematic maximization of [gain] and minimization of [pain] that entails us in every possible way to lead a coefficient factor of [m_u], myopic oversightedness of our situation where our generational differences (in different environments) means nothing to us in terms of life span.

[@polarbearanne]

She said insulin entering the receptor prevents FOXO from repairing the cell which causes the aging. Wouldn't preventing releases of insulin prevent aging then?

[@jomarcalauod63]

polarbearanne I think if you prevent the release of insulin, it would prevent the intake of nutrients as well - it'll make you die.

[@victoriagalvan4850]

yes, this is why fasting works. After about 3 days the the digestive tract shuts down and your body can then begin to replenish damaged cells

[@alphacause]

@Prolite (continued from previous response) For more information on how unnecessary grains are, and how harmful they can be, check out the works of Dr. Loren Cordain and Dr. Boyd Eaton. Dr. Cordain has lectures, here on KZbin, you can listen to.

[@JohnnyKidder]

@youfox415 Well, for one, groups that live longer can be less adaptable. Maybe like size of an animal, age is an "easily" changeable parameter, from a genetic stand point, that can be adjustable trough evolution in a small number of generations, depending on favorable conditions

[@pinochska]

@DeoMachina what? i want to understand please

[@bamboopoem1989]

My response is still that although by modifying the genetic expression, we can somehow make changes to our living conditions. although it's no way 'defying' the nature, but somehow it's still against the natural processes/cycles that have been existed on earth for so long, that already is there for a reason - adapted to the environment, with generations of stability. I still suspect this idea.. and how it should be seen in the future

[@KeeganIdler]

@mike6459 The problem with methylation is that the only things we know of are responsible for global methylation. This means we don't turn off the bad genes, we turn off all genes (or rather the reverse in this case, since green tea demethylates the genome, globally turning on genes). And so while demethylation is generally associated with good consequences (increased intelligence and decreased aging and diabetes), it very likely is going to have harmful unintended consequences.

[@2Critical4You]

@phrogeny There is a diet that is supposed to keep you young that work like that. You are only supposed to eat what you need and nothing more.

[@WormBreez]

I saw the video with the huge meteors but this scared me!

[@mufc4527]

What are you on about?

[@EquinoxIV]

I do not care much about the "live longer" aspect of this talk (ok ask me again in 50 years), but having seen my grandmother wasting away on Alzheimer, any prospect of fighting this desease is good news!

[@russbus540]

Why take a pill? Wouldn't reducing carbohydrates and sugar achieve a similar effect?. I guess it's hard to get funding for simple (non-drug) solutions.

[@xmenprince]

@NjC121 Resource based economy is very interesting as a model, but in order to implement it you have to change the mentality of the powerfull- the people that have the money. I don't see that happening

[@ThePostRockProject]

@BoyKissBoy I see what you are saying but unless i have missed something during me education people don't just fall down dead for simply being old. There are some diseases that the medical profession can't work out yet but there is normally a cause and effect of everything that goes wrong in the body.

[@alphacause]

@Prolite Vegetables/fruits are good (more veg than fruit). Grains are unnecessary - even harmful in large amounts. Vegetables/fruits do have carbs, but most have a high percentage of their carbs coming from fiber, a much higher percentage than whole grains, and since fiber does not spike blood sugar and actually blunts the blood sugar spike of other carbs, it does not provoke insulin/IGF-1 like whole grains. Secondly, vegetables/fruits have a higher nutrient/ phytochemical content than grains

[@Arghira]

Well nice talk...I think this research filed should go on but I wander why do we need to live longer? It might be dangerous, taking in account a holistic view... I mean the average life-span is greater and greater...we are overpopulating this earth and we are not fully capable to sustain ourselves. In Romania the retirement age has increased in order for the government to be able to pay already retired people... What do you think?

[@soorajmannancheri1751]

My objective is installation of 2*10^(46) watt solar panel

[@Telleryn]

This is fascinating and amazing, but one of the problems is that if people started living till say 200, we'd have to really make more of an effort to control our numbers or we'd simply have too many people. It would be good though if our best minds and scientists had this drug, keep it away from politicians though.

[@Freigeist20789]

@Coor4 propbably not ...it doenst slow down your development, because this is controlled by different hormones ...it slows down deterioration of tissue

[@xzation]

900+ TED talks? Did we go back in time, or did I just see into the future?

[@alphacause]

@Prolite But what is it about the Mediterranean Diet that is healthy? Is it really the grains, or the abundance of vegetables, fruit, fish, and olive oil which are really the health promoters? I think wheat and other grains are getting UNDESERVED credit for the healthy benefits of these items.

[@NickCombs]

@danben72 We do know how to feed everyone. It's called a resource based economy. What we have now is a monetary market, which inspires greed and is not really an economy of the resources that matter, only money.

[@invinciblemode]

"I hope it won't be long before this AGE OLD dream to come true.." I SEE WHAT YOU DID THERE!

[@MultiPaulinator]

The Fountain of Youth is within viewing range and only a few miles away. Ray Kurzweil is a prophet the same as Hari Seldon.

[@Yony42]

@EmoAlias My bad for 'rage-quitting' the video then if that's the case :)

[@ScorpiaX]

@gasdive I'm gussing calorie-restricted diets work on the premise of "survival mode" or, lower the metabolic activity/etc of organisms. If motion -> 0, then aging must -> 0, similar to hibernation-states. Since homeostasis -> 0 when duration of activity as functioning as human -> infinity, due to wear-and-tear. Unless we had that jelly-theoretical live-forever revert to polyp (age70->15) mechanism...heh

[@Razzfazz87]

@WiskeyDickBomber wrote the guy named WiskeyDickBomber...

[@sweYoda2]

@dreapster No not really, it has never been implemented before. Also, it takes a scientific approach to our problems.

[@MrShadowStalker]

What about FOXDIE?

[@freesk8]

@shintsu01 Hmm. It seems that environmental protections tend to be better in free market countries like the US, Canada, New Zeland, Australia, Switzerland than in the nations where the economies are more controlled by the government like Brazil, N. Korea, etc. Another interesting point is that the worst polluters in most nations are the govts themselves. In the US, most of the pollution damage is caused by the DOD and the DOE. It seems like govt is the biggest env. threat, not the free market.

[@juliaheu]

This sounds like a dystopian future. Awesome.

[@bamboopoem1989]

@595o well yeah I agree, but don't you think most changes are made such that abrupt results are made, and eventually lead to some more irreversible perturbations. think about alien migration and such

[@imasciencegeek]

while hormones provide a physiological response which expands life, the life span itself is often more dependent on metabolism. Slower animals (elephants and turtles) live longer than faster ones (like mice and hummingbirds).

[@Trazynn]

@shintsu01 The free market is a powerful and creative force and as we've seen this decade, it's something that can fester and become bloated and cannibalise itself. It needs more rigid boundaries, a truly free market incorporates the damages to the environment into the costs of the products. Just like we already have rule sin place regarding customer safety and protection from scams, we should have more rigid policies regarding unsustainable practices.

[@TucoBenedicto]

@youfox415 Well, that just doesn't tell us *nothing* about evolution, for many reasons. The main one: evolution "doesn't care" about your survivability on the long run, as long as you live enough to pass your genes to your children and to raise them until they are self-sufficient. Also, having a longer lifespawn could be an advantage for the single individual, but it's not necessarely so for a species.

[@youfox415]

So what does this say about evolution? Is increased longevity a survival-fitness disadvantage? If so how? And if not, why hasn't DAF-2 mutation become the norm in all animals?

[@alphacause]

@Prolite Type in Google "Why Grains Are Unhealthy Mark's Daily Apple" Its the first link. Mr. Sisson writes an article on the subject of whole grains, and he cites numerous studies, from places like Johns Hopkins University, which you can access by clicking on some of the links he has in the article.

[@skyblazer7]

Brilliant, but we also need to work on making future humans self-sustaining. Our dependence on food and oxygen as an energy source is a serious detriment in the long run (especially with population growth). Our bodies have a huge surface area...if we could alter our skin to photosynthesize like a plant, all we would really need is water, and we could recycle respiratory gases by integrating plant and animal respiratory systems.

[@OptimusPrimal1337]

@terminatora777 Don't know if you're serious or not... Are you saying we shouldn't have hospital care for people?

[@ScorpiaX]

@shintsu01 First of fall, doing business implies a benefit and a cost. Living alone implies a benefit and a cost. All costs and benefits can never be distributed evenly. The more humans, the more costs. Humans want to drive costs down, so if one does not do work, we entail a system where a minority or (remote) group of humans to do "work" (if its not automated that is). To live means to payoff this cost by artificial value of monetary systems. To sustain requires subsistence and investment.

[@oO_ox_O]

@bamboopoem1989 Where does nature start and where does it end and non-nature start? Nature isn't static in the sense that it's some of endless cycle although it might look like this if you look at it from a micro angle.

[@sausage4mash]

@classictvguy1 did you even watch this video ?

[@MoOtJeMan]

im 18 and on a mechanical engineering course. I'd love to be 250 years old before I die. Just to see the world then would be like showing a Roman the sky scrapers of new york. :]

[@warlord1981nl]

00:15 < click to skip intro

[@nachoijp]

@phrogeny telomeres are necesary for eternal life, as she says at the end, she's trying to expand youth not life, the expansion of lifespan is just a side effect of keeping young. So yes, we could live long and young, but eventually we would all age and die, probably very quickly because of telomerase

[@boscombefun]

hurry up, i'm getting on!

[@VectorArrow]

@Filecreator i read this while watching the first minute of this video. Now i dont want to finish watching.

[@Cawlmdownbrolololz]

@phrogeny your high right now?

[@Tethloach1]

@classictvguy1 No i just get bored and i don't do it for the health i do it to build muscle or sports but im not interested in either right now.

[@11FBA11]

cool.

[@timar03]

@srikargottipati well people not only would live longer but stay young longer. which means if you would take your first medicine because of an age related problem at the age of 30, when "mutated/ treated" you would get that problem at the age of 60! if the increase in lifespan would be linear, like in the case of the worm (times 2) , it would only have benefits. since the most time of your life youre paying more than youre getting. i.e. 50years working 30years in pension. would become 100:60

[@Justgoodvids]

00:15

[@CivilizationFirst]

@joserqc And that would be a problem why I would love to live and work that long :)

[@zibtihaj3213]

This is from 2011 - what is the update now ? 2023

[@Trazynn]

@Uribaani I don't! But the jobs that are worth more than their salaries are uncommon. I don't know if you've looked around you but most jobs out there fucking suck. We can't all be architects, writers, artists or astronauts. Without money there's no way people will do boring, filthy, humiliating or dangerous work.

[@dudepal187]

@warlord1981nl I get what you're saying, but a longer life ultimately means better medicine and less disease. This has been one of the main factors in raising prosperity and living standards over human history. There is no evidence to say that we must "let people die" in order to solve overpopulation problems. In fact, there is a very real demographic phenomenon that goes like this: as living standards go up, birth rates go down. So there is a balance that comes with innovations like these.

[@Kirbynessness]

CUTTING EDGE GRAPHICS

[@NickCombs]

@joserqc The Earth is entirely capable of sustaining a much larger population than 7B humans. The issue is our wasteful economy, not our number... As for the failure of the retirement system, the issue is really that it takes so much human labor to earn a decent living these days. And this is due to our monetary systems which are based on interest and inflation, even when it makes more sense to be working less rather than more as automation increases.

[@genrytov]

IN TIME (

[@Mikehoffmanart]

@CapMurd You can speed up aging yourself, just overeat bad food, take drugs, smoke and drink a lot.

[@swetshah92]

she is not 67 but 57...she was born in 1955

[@IAmJopert]

she's actually 289 years old