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NOVA scienceNOW: Aging
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Program Overview
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Scientists examine biological attributes that contribute to defying the odds
and living a life that is much longer than expected.
This NOVA scienceNOW segment:
states that only about 1 in 10,000 people defies the odds and lives to be
100 years old. studies centenarians and people older than 90 who were born at the turn
of the 20th century, when life expectancy was 40 years, to learn about the
factors involved in longevity. explains that these individuals over 90 more easily overcome, or are
resistant to, serious diseases that tend to strike in childhood and middle
age. explains that high levels and very large molecules of HDL, or "good"
cholesterol, seem important to longevity. reports that centenarians' genes were studied to look for commonalities
among individuals and their differences from the general population. describes experiments in which the food supply of yeast was cut, and the
yeast lived about 50 percent to 60 percent longer than it normally would
have. relates yeast experiments involving a mutation, in one of a family of
genes known as sirtuins, that boosts a DNA repair mechanism, causing the yeast
to live about 50 percent longer than yeast that has the gene without the
mutation. presents experiments, using the roundworm C. elegans, in which a
gene named Daph 2 was damaged, causing the roundworm's insulin level to
decrease and its life span to increase. points out that human longevity may be related to having genetic
mutations that trigger an increase in DNA repair. reports that red wine contains a chemical, resveratrol, that seems to
stimulate the sirtuin genes and may foster human longevity. states that having different variants of longevity genes may make some
people resistant to age-related diseases.
Taping Rights: Can be used up to one year after the program is taped off the air.
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