Dr. Eric Verdin

So aging is the accumulation of disorder. And that disorder is caused by a whole series of external forces over which we have essentially no control. Think about gravity. Think about the gamma rays coming from interstellar radiation. Think about UV. Think about oxygen stress. All of these forces are there and they're always going to be with us.

So aging is the accumulation of disorder. And that disorder is caused by a whole series of external forces over which we have essentially no control. Think about gravity. Think about the gamma rays coming from interstellar radiation. Think about UV. Think about oxygen stress. All of these forces are there and they're always going to be with us.

So aging is the accumulation of disorder. And that disorder is caused by a whole series of external forces over which we have essentially no control. Think about gravity. Think about the gamma rays coming from interstellar radiation. Think about UV. Think about oxygen stress. All of these forces are there and they're always going to be with us.

And we know that they are the driving forces of the aging process.

And we know that they are the driving forces of the aging process.

And we know that they are the driving forces of the aging process.

Thanks for having me, Mark. Delighted to be here with you and looking forward to the next hour.

Thanks for having me, Mark. Delighted to be here with you and looking forward to the next hour.

Thanks for having me, Mark. Delighted to be here with you and looking forward to the next hour.

That's a good question, actually. And the way I think about it, and it's true, this is something that's relatively recent, about 25% 30 years ago, aging was considered sort of the backwaters of biology. This was an area that you did not go there because it was considered too messy.

That's a good question, actually. And the way I think about it, and it's true, this is something that's relatively recent, about 25% 30 years ago, aging was considered sort of the backwaters of biology. This was an area that you did not go there because it was considered too messy.

That's a good question, actually. And the way I think about it, and it's true, this is something that's relatively recent, about 25% 30 years ago, aging was considered sort of the backwaters of biology. This was an area that you did not go there because it was considered too messy.

Bad for your career, exactly. Well, people used to think about aging as chaos. So think about if you have a little bit of a background in physics, entropy. So aging is the accumulation of disorder. And that disorder is caused by a whole series of external forces over which we have essentially no control. Think about gravity. Think about the gamma rays coming from interstellar radiation.

Bad for your career, exactly. Well, people used to think about aging as chaos. So think about if you have a little bit of a background in physics, entropy. So aging is the accumulation of disorder. And that disorder is caused by a whole series of external forces over which we have essentially no control. Think about gravity. Think about the gamma rays coming from interstellar radiation.

Bad for your career, exactly. Well, people used to think about aging as chaos. So think about if you have a little bit of a background in physics, entropy. So aging is the accumulation of disorder. And that disorder is caused by a whole series of external forces over which we have essentially no control. Think about gravity. Think about the gamma rays coming from interstellar radiation.

Think about UV. Think about oxygen stress. All of these forces are there, and they're always going to be with us. And we know that they are the driving forces of the aging process. What people had not appreciated is the degree to which we actually resist these forces. And this is where the potential is.

Think about UV. Think about oxygen stress. All of these forces are there, and they're always going to be with us. And we know that they are the driving forces of the aging process. What people had not appreciated is the degree to which we actually resist these forces. And this is where the potential is.

Think about UV. Think about oxygen stress. All of these forces are there, and they're always going to be with us. And we know that they are the driving forces of the aging process. What people had not appreciated is the degree to which we actually resist these forces. And this is where the potential is.

So think about, you know, we're not going to change the fact that we're living in oxygen or that there is gravity and gamma rays surrounding us. But what had not been appreciated is the degree to which we resist these forces. For example, if you're lacking DNA damage repair, which is one of the consequences of gamma irradiation or UV irradiation,

So think about, you know, we're not going to change the fact that we're living in oxygen or that there is gravity and gamma rays surrounding us. But what had not been appreciated is the degree to which we resist these forces. For example, if you're lacking DNA damage repair, which is one of the consequences of gamma irradiation or UV irradiation,